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‘sportsmen they decided that the favourite must 
be handicapped; but how to do so was the diffi- 
culty. At first a weight was attached to the 
shell, but as this was not easy to keep in position 
it was decided to make the snail draw it, and 
a tiny carriage was harnessed to the animal by 
means of a piece of elastic. The result was 
astounding. It was found that the snail could 
draw comfortably a weight of several pounds. 
Proceeding with their experiments, the boys 
next attempted to ascertain the maximum weight 
that a snail could pull, and, discarding the 
degenerate snail of the Parisian back garden in 
favour of the plump and well-fed variety which 
‘comes from the vineyards of Burgundy,—that is, 
the edible kind—they found that five or six 
harnessed together could draw a weight of 
25 lbs. a distance of seven or eight inches, when 
presumably their strength gave out. The final 
experiment was made with a baby carriage, in 
which a child sat and was drawn by a team of 
fourteen snails for several inches. 
5. 5 
One of the most affecting displays of maternal 
love in animal life is given in 
Mr. Frank Bullen’s ‘‘The Cruise 
of the Cachalot.” Whale fishing 
was the business of the ship, and after anxious 
search an expected victim had been found. The 
excitement and the peril on such occasions were 
intense. When struck by the harpooner the 
whale usually rushed below and away at a fearful 
speed, coming up again for air, and its rapid and 
unexpected contortions through pain often put the 
Mother= 
love. 
ROBINS. 
Animal Life 
whalers in fearful and imminent danger of death. 
Describing his first whale, Mr. Bullen says: ‘As 
we crawled up into the wind the whale went into 
convulsions befitting his size and energy. He 
raised a gigantic tail on high, threshing the water 
with deafening blows, rolling at the same time 
from side to side until the surrounding sea was 
white with froth.” Now for the contrast due to a 
mother’s love! After stealthy searching the 
whale was found, ‘‘a pale, shadowy column of 
white shimmering against the dark mass of the 
cliff.” The ‘“‘harpooner rose, darted once, twice, 
then gave a yell of triumph that rang re-echoing 
all around..... But, for all the notice taken 
by the whale, she might never have been touched. 
Close nestled to her side was a youngling of not 
more, certainly, than five days old, which sent up 
its baby spout every now and then about two feet 
into the air. One long, wing-like fin embraced 
its small body, holding it close to the massive 
breast of the tender mother, whose only care 
seemed to be to protect her young, utterly 
regardless of her own pain and danger.... . 
While the calf continually sought to escape from 
the enfolding fin..... the mother scarcely 
moved from her position, although streaming with 
blood from a score of wounds.” Once as a deep- 
searching thrust entered her very vitals, she 
raised her massy flukes high in the air, in agony, 
“but even in that dire throe she remembered 
the possible danger to her young one, and laid 
the tremendous weapon as softly down upon the 
water as if it were afeather fan. So with scarcely 
a writhe she died, holding the calf to her side 
until her vital spark had fled.” 
