io8 WILD LIFE OF SCOTLAND 



the ice-fields is undoubtedly a matter of choice ; 

 for these Arctic waters literally flow with medusae, 

 winged molluscs, and other items of his favourite 

 diet. The short space which he marks out, and 

 over which he swims backward and forward open- 

 mouthed, probably yields more than many a mile 

 of the North Sea. 



The finner, a much less persecuted creature, 

 because of the shortness and comparative valueless- 

 ness of the bone, occasionally appears in the offing, 

 or even enters the mouths of rivers, and is the 

 species known to us as " the whale." 



" In the cetacea, the dental germs are developed 

 in foetal life, but the teeth either fall out before 

 birth (whalebone whales), or develop into per- 

 manent teeth (dolphins)." 



The quiet life of our northern parts is sometimes 

 disturbed by the appearance of a body of large 

 toothed whales. Then every available boat is 

 launched, every Shetlander, or Orcadian, leaves 

 what he is doing to take an oar, and a vigorous 

 attempt is made to frighten the animals ashore. 

 The ca-ing, or bottlenosed whale, as the species 

 is called, seldom ventures beyond the Pentland 

 Firth. 



Of the two other forms of toothed whales, the 



