288 THE WHALE. 



" Guinea ships," probably from having first observed them 

 on that coast. 



MRS. F. 



But the Physalia and the Nautilus are not the only mol- 

 lusca which thus float upon the surface of the ocean. The 

 little Clio helicina, which, with another of its species (C. 

 borealis) form one of the aliments of the whale, sails in the 

 northern seas, where it abounds. 



HENRIETTA. 



What is it that the whale chiefly feeds upon 1 ? 



MRS. F. 

 Upon small fish, worms, mollusca, and zoophytes. 



FREDERICK. 



But what small food for so enormous an animal! 



MRS. F. 



The construction of the mouth of the whale is admirably 

 adapted for taking the food upon which it subsists. The upper 

 jaw is, as you know, lined with the substance which we call 

 whalebone, the edges of which are furnished with long hairs, 

 or filaments. The whale swims with great velocity, and 

 with its mouth wide open, by which means an immense vol- 

 ume of water, and consequently quantities of the mollusca it 

 contains, enter its mouth. The water is spouted up in the 

 air by means of a narrow opening pierced just above the 

 head, while the food remains entangled in the hairy palate. 



HENRIETTA. 



What a beautiful arrangement! I have heard people who 

 saw the skeleton of the whale in London, observe how very 

 small its swallow is for so large an animal; but its food, con- 

 sisting chiefly of these little mollusca, accounts for it. 



> MRS. F. 



Yes; the clio, of which I was telling you, is hardly an inch 

 long. 



