THE HARVEST OF THE SEA. 191 



creatures. They have little rest, however, for 

 there is still a great demand for whalebone, which, 

 by the way, is not bone at all, but a kind of tough 

 fringe which grows around the whale's mouth to 

 assist him in catching his food. 



A large whale's head may contain as much as 

 2,500 pounds of whalebone, and the price is some- 

 times as high as $3.50 a pound; so you see the 

 capture of a full-grown whale is quite an impor- 

 tant event. 



While the whalers in the Arctic are taking off 

 the fat blubber, the natives are rushing in with 

 sharp knives to cut off as much of the lean meat 

 as possible before the carcass sinks. This lean 

 meat furnishes them a great supply of food, and 

 we surely do not grudge them their prize. 



From whales to sponges is a long step, but both 

 are a part of the ''harvest of the sea." Good 

 sponges grow in rather warm water, like that of 

 the West Indies and parts of the Mediterranean 

 Sea. They are also found in the Red Sea, but 

 none of any value grow in the Pacific Ocean. 



When the sponge is torn from the rock on 

 which it is growing, and brought to the surface, 

 it is of a dark color, looking almost like a piece of 

 liver. After being out of the water for a short 

 time, the sponges die. They are then thrown into 



