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THE GUIDE TO NATURE 
tempts, as other fish were in the way, snort- 
ing and slashing the water with their enor- 
mous bodies. One large fish lying farther 
up on the sand than the rest measured 
eighteen feet, yet there were others still 
longer and larger. All of these huge bodies, 
in their frantic efforts to free and lift them- 
selves from the sand, made indescribable 
sounds at each intake of breath. 
“The second morning after they were 
stranded, fishermen from Provincetown 
were busily at work securing from their 
heads the valuable sperm oil which is the 
only article of commercial value obtained 
from these mammals. In former days when 
the fish made their occasional appearance, 
the event was hailed by fishermen as a 
stroke of good fortune; for not only the 
sperm oil, but also the two-inch-thick mass 
of fat enveloping their bodies, furnished 
many gallons of lamp and machine oil. In 
those times the cry of 'Blackfish in the Bay’ 
was just occasion for the minister to excuse 
his congregation, that all the men in boats 
might help to drive them ashore." 
T.he above letter and quotation were re- 
ferred to the Bureau of Fisheries at Wash- 
ington, and the following reply has been 
received : 
"The blackfish referred to are not fishes, 
but small whales, ordinarily reaching a 
length of from fifteen to eighteen feet but 
occasionally as much as twenty-five feet. 
They swim in large schools sometimes num- 
bering several hundred, and are abundant 
on the middle Atlantic and New England 
coast and on the coasts of Canada and New 
Foundland. 
"There are records of schools of them 
stranding on the shores from early colonial 
times, and if my recollection serves me ac- 
curately about sixteen hundred were at one 
time stranded within a small area. 
“These animals breathe through the me- 
dium of lungs, coming to the surface at 
intervals to ‘blow’ like other whales. 
“They are of some economic importance 
for their oil. a limited product of high value 
being obtained from the jaws, and a much 
larger quantity of a lower-priced commodity 
from the blubber which envelops the body 
in a layer from one to four inches thick. The 
flesh also is edible, somewhat resembling a 
coarse beef, but having a darker color.” 
A Forest Idyl 
BY EARLE CORNWALLIS, DWIGHT, NEBRASKA. 
Tread gently, Friend, amid Dame Nature’s 
frills, 
For here and there among these grassy 
knolls and hills 
Grow darling little elves — the Wildwood 
flowers 
Waiting day by day for summer’s showers; 
And o'er these rural dells — behold! — a 
guarding crew 
Of Johnny-jump-ups looking quite suspi- 
ciously at you! 
“ITS PETALEI) ROBE." 
Photograph by I . \V. Lee. 
THE WATER LILY. 
By Mellicent Humason Lee, Berlin, Conn. 
What is this lovely flower that lightly springs 
Out of the mud and slime of ghoulish things, 
And lies in languid beauty on the lake, 
Bidding the flower-flies and bees partake 
Of its sweet chalice, fragrant for their sake? 
Though it is nectar-filled and dazzling white, 
It has no love for creatures upon its nest, 
But ere the sun descends upon its nest, 
It wraps its petaled robe around its breast ; 
While in the dusky pool, the shy deer browse 
Upon the leaves which by their lily drowse. 
