278 THE BEASON WHY. 



' Hast thou given the horse strength ? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder ? 



* * He paveth the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength : he goeth on 



to meet the armed men." JOB xxxix. 



which form a jelly-like mass upon which the whale feeds. A whale 

 has been known to weigh as much as 249 tons, and its blubber 

 yielded 4,000 gallons of oil. How many millions of living creatures 

 must have gone to make up that enormous mass of animal matter ! 



1096. Why have cats, and various other animals, whiskers ? 

 The whiskers of cats, and of the cat tribe, are exceedingly 



sensitive, enabling them, when seizing their prey in the dark, to feel 

 its position most acutely. These hairs are supplied, through their 

 roots, with branches of the same nerves that give sensibility to the 

 lips, and that in insects supply their "feelers." 



1097. Why lias the horse a smaller stomach proportion- 

 ately than other animals ? 



Because the horse was created for speed. Had he the 

 ruminating stomach of the ox, he would be quite unfitted for the 

 labour which he now so admirably performs. 



1098. Why has the horse no gall-bladder ? 



Because the rapid digestion of the horse, by which its fitness for 

 speed is greatly increased, does not require the storing up of the 

 bile as in other animals in which the digestive process is a slower 

 operation. 



1099. Why do certain butterflies lay their eggs upon 

 callage leaves ? 



Because the cabbage leaves are the food of the young 

 caterpillars; and although the butterfly does not subsist herself 

 upon the leaf, she knows by instinct that the leaf will afford food to 

 her future young ; she therefore lays her eggs where her young ones 

 will find food. 



This explanation applies to many insects that lay their eggs upon other 

 plants 



1100. Why have insects long projections from their heads, 

 like horns or feathers ? 



Because those organs (the antennae), are those through which 

 some insects hear and others feel; and the projecting of these 

 antennas from their bodies probably enables them to hear or feel 



