IV. VALUE OF MAMMALS TO MAN 



In the study of nature it is necessary in this age of 

 progress to have in mind the practical vahie of animals 

 and their economic relations to mankind. Every animal 

 has some use, fills some niche in the economy of nature. 



Fig. 21. — The Whalebone Whale. 



All the large mammals are of value. The great whale- 

 bone whales have been followed with such success that 

 they may be said to be on the border land of extinction, 

 and it will be remarkable if the present century does not 

 see the last of some of them. They are valued for their 

 oil held in the blubber or fat, and for the whalebone, the 

 peculiar fringes of the mouth which act as strainers. The 



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