A " MILD-MANNERED MONSTER. 



371 



rises to the height of several yards, and at a distance 

 resembles a puff of white smoke. He blows strongest, 

 densest, and loudest when in a panic of terror, or when 

 appearing on the surface after being a long time below. 



GKEENLAND WHALES BLOWING. 



When we reflect on the immense size and colossal 

 strength of the whale, we are tempted to think that no 

 marine animal can possibly escape his voracious jaws, and 

 that he must be as truly the scourge of the seas as is the 

 tiger of the jungle. But, apart from the fact that he is 

 of a gentle and even pacific disposition, he has no teeth, 

 and is wholly unable, therefore, to live by carnage. He 

 can neither prey on his own kind, nor on the larger fishes. 

 Even if he could capture and masticate, he could not 

 swallow them ; for his throat is so small that he is unable 

 to dispose of a morsel which an ox could swallow easily. 

 It has been forcibly remarked that his well-provided pas- 

 ture-grounds exhibit, to the contemplation of the curious, 



