THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 685 



crystalline transparency to striking opacity, which is due mainly to 

 small medusae sea-nettles and jelly-fish and nudibranehiate 

 naked mollusks. These are calculated to form one-fourth part 

 of the surface of the sea between the above mentioned parallels, 

 so that many thousands of square miles are absolutely teeming 

 with life. 



On the coast of Greenland, where the waters are so transparent 

 that the bottom is clearly visible at a distance of 300 feet, there 

 may be seen gigantic tangles growing in the depth, around the 

 fronds of which millions of tiny creatures are always circulating. 

 A dead seal or fish is speedily converted into a skeleton by the 

 myriads of small crustaceans which infest these icy waters, and, 

 like the ants of equatorial forests, perform the part of scavengers 

 of the deep. This minute animal life affords most interesting 

 study to the scientist, but our remaining space must be reserved 

 for the greater wonders, such as whales, norwhals, sea unicorns, 

 dolphins, and other large inhabitants of the polar seas. 



WONDERS OF THE WHALE. 



THE largest of all animals is the whale, a very leviathan, pon- 

 derous with bulk and powerful with energy. The wonders of 

 nature are shown in this animal more amazingly than any other 

 creature. These remarkable phenomena are not found alone 

 in its extraordinary size, but in its structure and habits as well. 

 The largest species attains a length of one hundred feet, while 

 its head measures fully thirty feet, a wonderful proportion ; and 

 yet there is no trace of neck even in the skeleton ; they have 

 nostrils, but not for the exercise of smell, being used for respira- 

 tion and also for hearing ; there is no external ear, and the audi- 

 tory opening is extremely small, to prevent the undue access of 

 water. Air penetrates into the large eustachian tubes through 

 the blow-holes, permitting the appreciation of sounds, both in 

 the air and water. It may therefore be said, paradoxically, that 

 the whale smells with his ears and hears with his nose. The 

 mouth is of great width and the jaws are armed with plates of 

 whalebone, or numerous conical teeth, the former acting as a 

 strainer of its food for one species, while in another the teeth 



