26 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS. 



bulk of the head, without adding much to its weight, 

 and so renders it lighter than water. In consequence 

 of this structure, when the whale rises to the surface 

 of the water for the purpose of respiration, the head 

 floats as easily as a cork ; and without any exertion on 

 the part of the animal, the nostrils are kept well above 

 the water. 



So much for respiration, as the act by which the 

 whale purifies its blood. We will now proceed to 

 Feeding, as the act by which the animal keeps up the 

 supply of the vital fluid. 



As examples of the same end attained by different 

 means, we cannot do better than take the Cachalot, 

 being a toothed whale of the Southern Seas, and 

 the Greenland whale being the toothless whale of 

 the Northern Seas. There are plenty of others, but 

 these afford the best types of the mollusc-feeding 

 whales, the former living on the large, and the latter 

 on the small molluscs. 



The jaws of these animals are beautifully adapted 

 for the purposes which they have to fulfil. In the 

 former, the upper jaw is nearly toothless ; whereas 

 the lower jaw is furnished on each side with a row of 

 large conical teeth, set at some distance from each 

 other, and fitting into cavities in the upper jaw. 



These teeth, by the way, were at one time the most 

 cherished and valued objects that could be possessed 

 by Fiji or Friendly Islander, some peculiarly sacred 

 character being attached to them. None but a chief 

 could possess so coveted an article ; and many dis- 

 astrous wars have taken place because the principal 

 chief of one island had obtained possession of a whale's 



