82 THE HAUNTS OF LIFE 
Unfortunately for the whale man long ago 
discovered the value to himself of the whale- 
bone and the blubber, and the chase of the 
“right” whale has gone on for centuries. 
Even its mother-love has been turned to its dis- 
advantage, for the inexperienced young one is 
easily caught, and the mother is absolutely 
careless of her own safety in her efforts to pro- 
tect her offspring. Modern improvements in 
fishing vessels and apparatus have made the 
warfare a very unequal one, and this interest- 
ing animal is fast disappearing from the seas. 
THE STORY OF THE STORM PETREL 
No creature is more characteristic of the 
Open Sea than the Storm Petrel, for it rarely 
touches land except at the nesting-time. From 
the breeding-places, such as islets to the north 
and north-west of Scotland, they migrate in 
autumn to open waters and spend all the win- 
ter there. One of their many names, Mother 
Carey’s Chickens, suggests that they are dear 
to the Holy Mother, who has the weak and 
storm-tossed in her keeping. As to the word 
petrel, it is supposed to refer to St. Peter’s 
attempt to walk on the water, but it is more 
