236 ANIMAL FORMS 
while the fore limbs are short and capable of being moved 
only as a whole. External ears are also absent. The eyes 
are exceedingly small, those of individuals attaining a length 
of from fifty to eighty feet, being in some species, at least, 
but little larger than those of an ox. These are often placed 
at the corners of the mouth. The nasal openings, often 
known as blow-holes, are situated on the forehead, and as 
the whale comes to the surface for air afford an outlet for 
the stream of breath and vapor often blown high in the 
air—a process known as spouting. In some of the whales, 
such as the dolphin, porpoise, and sperm-whales, the teeth 
persist throughout life, but in most of the larger species 
they never “cut” the gum, but early disappear, and their 
place is taken by large numbers of whalebone plates with 
frayed edges which act as strainers. The smaller-toothed 
forms (porpoises, dolphins, and several species of grampus) 
are frequently seen close to the shore, where they are usu- 
ally actively engaged in capturing fish. On the other hand, 
the larger species, such as the humpback, right whale, and 
sulfurbottom, not uncommon along our coasts, especially 
to the northward, live on much smaller organisms. With 
open mouth these whales swim through the water until 
they collect a sufficient quantity of jelly-fishes, snails, and 
crustacea, then closing the mouth strain out the water 
through the whalebone fringes and swallow the residue. 
As noted above, the animals of this order are almost 
wholly devoid of hair, but the heat of the body is retained 
by a thick layer of fat beneath the skin. This “blubber” 
also gives lightness to the body (as do the voluminous lungs), 
and, furthermore, yields large quantities of oil, which in 
former times made ‘‘ whale-fishing ” a profitable industry. 
The whales bear one, rarely two offspring, which are solicit- 
ously attended by the mother for a long time. The smaller 
species grow to a length of from five or eight feet (por- 
poises, dolphins) to twice this size (grampuses); while the 
larger whales, by far the largest of animals, range from 
