the Rorquals, they follow the Herring and Mackerel
shoals. Now and again they dash into the nets, and are shown in the
fish-market.

EXERCISES

1. Describe how the Whale breathes. 2. What food do the Sperm and
Greenland Whales eat? 3. How does the Greenland Whale eat its food? 4,
Give the names of five kinds of Whale.

LESSON VII

TIGERS OF THE SEA

[Illustration: A CORAL REEF.]

The monsters of the Shark family, fortunately for us, live in warm seas,
and so are not often found near the shores of Great Britain. But our
seas contain smaller Sharks of various kinds, and in greater number than
most people imagine.

Sharks are fierce hunters. Many a poor sailor or diver has been torn to
pieces and devoured by these ravenous tigers of the deep. Some Sharks
are of great size and immense power; they are by far the largest of all
living fish; and no animal in the whole kingdom of animals owns such a
terrible death-trap of a mouth as the Shark. It is, in some kinds of
Shark, armed with seven rows of teeth with keen edges and points!

Sometimes a Shark follows a steamer in the open sea, day after day,
waiting for whatever may chance his way; and it is astonishing what
strange objects he will swallow. These monsters are often caught on a
hook baited with a lump of meat, and are hauled to the steamer's deck.
One Shark was found to contain all the rubbish that had been pitched
overboard; tin cans, a bundle of old coats, a piece of rope, old bones,
and so on. What a fierce hunger must have driven the Shark to swallow
such a meal as that!

Before we look at some of these fierce creatures, whom everyone
dislikes, we will say a word for them. Nature meant them to be
_scavengers_, to clean up the sea. And this they do. Dead and decaying
flesh is a danger, and the Shark, ever hungry, clears it away quickly.

Now and again fishermen bring a big Shark to port, and hang him in the
market--not for sale, but as a "show." The Blue Shark is the one most
often displayed like this. See how his mouth is set, well under the
head, as in all Sharks; and notice the shape of the body. It tells of
speed and strength in the water; its pointed, tapering form reminds one
of the racing yacht.

[Illustration: THE WHITE RAY]

What is this fierce fellow doing so near our coast? He is often found
off Cornwall--too often, thinks the fisherman. This Shark comes to seek
the same prey as the fisherman--the shoals of Mackerel and Pilchard (a
c