72 



WHALES AND MEDUSAE. 



fill 



table; but the same species, when taken off the warm 

 coral banks of the Bahamas, are scarcely worth 

 eating. In fact, we see no reason for doubting that 

 when these fish find their health giving way in the 

 warm regions of the south, they seek to re'invigorate 

 themselves by change of water ; and, quitting for a 

 time the beauteous coral groves, spend a few of the 

 summer- months of each year in gambolling in the 

 cool regions of the north, or, what is much the same 

 thing, in those cool currents that flow from the 

 north in clearly defined channels. 

 Besides its other use- 

 and .manifold pur- 

 the Gulf Stream 

 would seem to be one of 

 the great purveyors of 

 food to the whales. 

 Sea-nettles, or medusae, 

 are well known to consti- 

 tute the principal food 

 of that species of whale 

 which is termed the right 

 whale. Navigators have 

 frequently observed large 

 quantities of these me- 

 dusae floating along with 

 the Gulf Stream ; and 

 one sea captain in partic- 

 ular fell in with an extraordinarily large quantity 

 of them, of a very peculiar species, off the coast of 



A MEDUSA. 



