THE WHALE 151 



with legs at all. Instead they have a flat fish-like tail set cross- 

 ways, and not up and down like that of a fish. This tail they 

 use as a propeller. In place of fore-legs they have a couple 

 of fin -like limbs. Like fishes they have no neck, as that also 

 would retard their swimming. 



Some of these animals are valued by man for the oil which is 

 to be got from their "blubber", and also for their hide, which 

 makes very tough leather. The blubber is a thick layer of fat 

 beneath the skin, and protects the animal from the cold like a very 

 warm great-coat. 



THE WHALE 



The largest of the Cetaceans is the Whale. This gigantic 

 animal lives chiefly in the cold Arctic seas, but is found in other 

 parts of the world, and sometimes visits our own seas and 

 estuaries. On account of its icy home the whale is protected by 

 a very thick coat of blubber, which contains a vast quantity of 

 oil enclosed in a great number of cells. This oil is the chief reason 

 why the whale is so valuable an animal. 



But this coating of blubber has another use as well as that 

 of keeping out the cold. The whale is a good diver, and often 

 descends to a very great depth. The pressure of the water at a 

 few hundred feet beneath the surface would quickly kill the 

 animal if it were not in some way protected. And this protec- 

 tion it obtains from its coat of blubber, which is so elastic that 

 it quite prevents the pressure from injuring it. 



The whale is a grand diver, and can remain under water for 

 more than an hour at a time. When it can do without air no 

 longer, it rises to the surface, and takes fifty or sixty deep breaths. 

 The so-called " spoutings " are the expiration of its breath, which 

 throws up the water like a fountain as it passes from the 

 blow -holes, i.e. its nostrils, which are placed in the top of its 

 head. This water is mainly condensed vapour from the whale's 

 lungs. People have therefore sometimes thought that the whale 

 breathes not air, but water. 



The whaJe has two paddles on the fore part of its body, but 



