82 THE HAUNTS OF LIFE 



Unfortunately for the whale man long ago 

 discovered the value to himself of the whale- 

 bone and the blubber, and the chase of the 

 "right" whale has gone on for centuries. 

 Even its mother-love has been turned to its dis- 

 advantage, for the inexperienced young one is 

 easily caught, and the mother is absolutely 

 careless of her own safety in her efforts to pro- 

 tect her offspring. Modern improvements in 

 fishing vessels and apparatus have made the 

 warfare a very unequal one, and this interest- 

 ing animal is fast disappearing from the seas. 



THE STORY OF THE STORM PETREL 



No creature is more characteristic of the 

 Open Sea than the Storm Petrel, for it rarely 

 touches land except at the nesting-time. From 

 the breeding-places, such as islets to the north 

 and north-west of Scotland, they migrate in 

 autumn to open waters and spend all the win- 

 ter there. One of their many names, Mother 

 Carey's Chickens, suggests that they are dear 

 to the Holy Mother, who has the weak and 

 storm-tossed in her keeping. As to the word 

 petrel, it is supposed to refer to St. Peter's 

 attempt to walk on the water, but it is more 



