THE OCEAN MAMMALS 353 
enemy. Because of the enormous pressures which must 
be endured by the animal, the external opening of the ear 
is reduced to the diameter of a crow-quill, whereas the 
opening of the ear into the nose — the Eustachian tube — 
is very large. Deafness, following the closing of this tube 
by adenoid growths in children, has made most of us know 
of the existence of this second ‘‘ear-hole.”” The whale 
actually hears through his nose, in a way similar to that 
by which a person listens “‘open-mouthed.” The eyes are 
very small; this is not a disadvantage, fixed as the eyes are 
in such positions that the animal can see well neither ahead 
nor astern. Sight can hardly be much used as a feeding 
sense; think of looking for your food when you have to 
catch millions of tiny creatures, like copepods, to satisfy 
your appetite! It has been said that a whale brought to 
land does not die of asphyxiation, for he can breathe an 
hour or two at least; that, on the other hand, he does die 
of starvation. He must eat incessantly or die. 
On a fine morning on the Labrador coast, I have counted 
a dozen whales in a single school. Now and again a huge 
tail would emerge from the water and lash the surface 
with its full breadth, making a sound like the firing of a 
cannon, while the silence of the stillness was otherwise 
broken only by the noise of their blowing, as they rolled 
lazily along on the surface. I have seen the thresher whales 
making their huge prey hurl his whole immense body clear 
out of the water, only to fall back with the splash of a 
waterfall, and the noise of a thunderclap, to be stabbed by 
the swordfish below, or eaten alive by the fearful jaws of 
his enemy. 
In order to remain below water so long as they do (a 
2A 
