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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77840 ***
+
+
+
+
+  THE
+
+  SEALS AND WHALES
+
+  OF THE
+
+  BRITISH SEAS.
+
+  BY
+  THOMAS SOUTHWELL, F.Z.S.
+
+  _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS._
+
+  London:
+  JARROLD AND SONS, 3, PATERNOSTER BUILDINGS.
+  [_All Rights Reserved._]
+  1881.
+
+
+
+
+                              INTRODUCTION.
+
+                  SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS.
+
+
+Although at no period entirely neglected, as is apparent from the
+frequent reference to the subject by old authors, and from the known
+richness in species of the British Fauna, compared with that of the
+Continent of Europe, the study of the Marine Mammalia of the British
+Seas has, of late years, received more than usual attention, and the
+advance made in the knowledge of these creatures, has been rapid
+in proportion. Nor is it surprising that, to the inhabitants of a
+densely-peopled country like the British Isles, the terrestrial fauna
+of which must, of necessity, be very restricted and familiar, the study
+of the mammals frequenting its seas and shores should be possessed of a
+peculiar charm. The uncertainty and rarity of their occurrence, their
+exceptional forms, the mystery which shrouds their origin, heightened
+by the romance which surrounds the seas and high latitudes forming the
+chief home of so many species, must always render them objects of the
+greatest interest. Not only is this the case on the coast, but even in
+inland districts, whither--notably to London and Birmingham--Cetaceans
+have been brought, both living and dead, at great expense, and from
+long distances, to gratify the growing interest which has manifested
+itself, in these remarkable animals.
+
+Under these circumstances it is surprising that no modern book,
+especially devoted to this subject, exists; those who would inform
+themselves must search out the scattered records dispersed in the
+publications of numerous Scientific Societies, or procure works, which,
+excellent as they may be, are much more comprehensive in scope, and
+too expensive to be within the reach of many into whose hands it is
+hoped this little book may come: the author has, therefore, striven to
+supply what is certainly a desideratum, viz., a cheap, plain, but, he
+hopes, trustworthy treatise on the Marine Mammalia of the British Seas.
+Originally published in the form of a series of papers in the pages of
+_Science Gossip_, the following account of the “Seals and Whales found
+in the British Seas” has been brought down to the present time, and
+much new matter added, not the least important of which is that devoted
+to the claims of the Atlantic Right-Whale to a place in the British
+fauna.
+
+Doubtless, rare specimens are often lost to science for want of
+identification, and all those interested in their study have
+experienced the frequent disappointment which attends the bare
+announcement of “a Whale on shore:” in many instances no attempt is
+made to determine the species, in others it is evidently wrongly-named,
+or, although perhaps a more or less elaborate description may be given,
+not a single feature is indicated by which it may be identified.
+
+One special object in reproducing these pages is to assist, by means
+of the most accurate figures which could be obtained, and short
+descriptions of the more important characters to be observed in each
+species, in determining those specimens which, from time to time, are
+landed by our fishermen, or cast dead upon the shore. Elaborate or
+technical descriptions have been carefully avoided, but short accounts
+of the habits and distribution, so far as known, of each species have
+been given, with the hope of interesting others in the study of this,
+even now, too-much-neglected branch of Natural History.
+
+To the more advanced student the numerous references may be useful for
+indicating the sources whence detailed information of a more technical
+character is to be obtained.
+
+The usefulness of this little manual, which pretends to no originality,
+but in the compilation of which no labour has been spared to insure
+accuracy, will, it is hoped, be greatly enhanced by the Illustrations;
+they were either engraved from original drawings, or copied from the
+most trustworthy sources (indicated in the text); several of them have
+since been adopted by the latest publications on the subject, both in
+England and America. For the use of 20 of the illustrations, out of a
+total of 29, the author is indebted to the kindness of Mr. David Bogue,
+who obligingly lent the blocks originally engraved for the papers in
+_Science Gossip_.
+
+The author has to acknowledge, with many thanks, the kind assistance
+afforded him by MR. J. W. CLARK, Superintendent of the Museum of the
+University of Cambridge, and a recognized authority on the _Cetacea_
+and _Pinnipedia_. He, also, has to record the services, in behalf of
+this little work, rendered by one, who, beloved and lamented by many
+friends, has passed away since it has been in the press--the late MR.
+EDWARD RICHARD ALSTON. The wound inflicted by the early death of that
+amiable and promising naturalist is too fresh to admit of further
+reference.
+
+  _Norwich, March 1881._
+
+
+
+
+                                 INDEX.
+
+
+        PAGE.
+
+  Atlantic Right-Whale, 61
+
+
+  _Balæna biscayensis_, 61
+
+  ” _mysticetus_, 49
+
+  _Balænoptera boops_, 70
+
+  ” _borealis_ (Note), 128
+
+  ” _laticeps_, 77
+
+  ” _musculus_, 70
+
+  ” _rostrata_, 78
+
+  ” _sibbaldii_, 75
+
+  Beaked Whale, 101
+
+  Beluga ”, 108
+
+  Bottle-head ”, 101
+
+  Bottle-nose Dolphin, 124
+
+  Broad-fronted Beaked Whale, 101
+
+
+  Cachelot, 85
+
+  Cetacea, 44
+
+  Cuvier’s Whale, 102
+
+  _Cystophora cristata_, 24
+
+
+  _Delphinapterus leucas_, 108
+
+  _Delphinus acutus_, 125
+
+  ” _albirostris_, 125
+
+  ” _deductor_, 118
+
+  ” _delphis_, 121
+
+  ” _globiceps_, 118
+
+  ” _melas_, 118
+
+  ” _phocœna_, 120
+
+  ” _tursio_, 124
+
+  Dolphin, Bottle-nosed, 124
+
+  ” Common, 121
+
+  ” Risso’s, 115
+
+  ” White-beaked, 125
+
+  ” White-sided, 125
+
+
+  _Epiodon desmarestii_, 102
+
+
+  _Globicephalus melas_, 118
+
+  Grampus, Common, 113
+
+  ” Risso’s, 115
+
+  _Grampus cuvieri_, 115
+
+  ” _griseus_, 115
+
+  Greenland Right-Whale, 49
+
+
+  _Halichœrus gryphus_, 28
+
+  Hump-backed Whale, 69
+
+  _Hyperoodon butzkopf_, 101
+
+  ” _latifrons_, 101
+
+  ” _rostratum_, 101
+
+
+  _Lagenorhynchus acutus_, 125
+
+  ” _albirostris_, 125
+
+
+  _Megaptera longimana_, 69
+
+  _Mesoplodon sowerbiensis_, 105
+
+  _Monodon monoceros_, 106
+
+  Mystacoceti, 49
+
+
+  Narwhal, 106
+
+
+  Odontoceti, 85
+
+  _Orca gladiator_, 113
+
+
+  _Phoca baikalensis_, 17
+
+  ” _discolor_, 17
+
+  ” _grœnlandica_, 21
+
+  ” _hispida_, 14
+
+  ” _vitulina_, 11
+
+  _Phocœna communis_, 120
+
+  _Physalus antiquorum_, 70
+
+  ” _latirostris_, 75
+
+  _Physeter macrocephalus_, 85
+
+  Pilot Whale, 118
+
+  Pinnipedia, 2
+
+  Porpoise, 120
+
+  _Pseudorca crassidens_, 114
+
+
+  Risso’s Grampus, 115
+
+  Rorqual, Common, 70
+
+  ” Lesser, 78
+
+  ” Rudolphi’s, 77
+
+  ” ” (Note), 128
+
+  ” Sibbald’s, 75
+
+  _Rorqualus minor_, 78
+
+
+  Seal, Common, 11
+
+  ” Greenland, 21
+
+  ” Grey, 28
+
+  ” Hooded, or Bladder-nosed, 24
+
+  ” Ringed, or Marbled, 14
+
+  _Sibbaldius borealis_, 75
+
+  Sowerby’s Whale, 105
+
+  Sperm Whale, 85
+
+
+  _Trichechus rosmarus_, 32
+
+  _Tursio truncatus_, 124
+
+
+  Walrus, 32
+
+  Whale, Atlantic Right, 61
+
+  ” Beaked, 101
+
+  ” Bottle-head, 101
+
+  ” Broad-fronted, 101
+
+  ” Cuvier’s, 102
+
+  ” Greenland Right, 49
+
+  ” Humpbacked, 69
+
+  ” Pilot, 118
+
+  ” Sowerby’s, 105
+
+  ” Sperm, 85
+
+  ” White, 108
+
+  White-sided Dolphin, 125
+
+  White-beaked Dolphin, 125
+
+
+  Ziphioid Whales, 98
+
+  _Ziphius cavirostris_, 102
+
+
+
+
+                                 ERRATA.
+
+
+  Page  77, bottom line, for _Physalis_ read _Physalus_.
+    ”  126, for _alberostris_ read _albirostris_.
+
+
+
+
+                         LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+                                                                 PAGE.
+
+ _Figure_ 1.--HIND FLIPPERS OF RINGED SEAL                         2
+
+    ”     2.--SKELETON OF SEAL                                    12
+
+    ”     3.--RINGED OR MARBLED SEAL                              15
+
+    ”     4.--GREENLAND SEAL                                      20
+
+    ”     5.--HOODED SEAL                                         25
+
+    ”     6.--GREY SEAL                                           29
+
+    ”     7.--WALRUS                                              33
+
+    ”     8.--_Vacca Marina_                                      37
+
+    ”     9.--HEAD OF WALRUS                                      39
+
+    ”    10.--SEA HORSE (after Cook)                              41
+
+    ”    11.--SECTION OF SKULL OF WHALEBONE WHALE                 46
+
+    ”    12.--GREENLAND RIGHT-WHALE                               51
+
+    ”    13.--ATLANTIC RIGHT-WHALE                                60
+
+    ”    14.--COMMON RORQUAL                                      71
+
+    ”    15.--LESSER RORQUAL                                      80
+
+    ”    16.--SPERM WHALE                                         84
+
+    ”    17.--CHAIR IN GREAT YARMOUTH CHURCH                      87
+
+    ”    18.--BACK VIEW OF DITTO, DITTO                           87
+
+    ”    19.--SKELETON OF SPERM WHALE                             88
+
+    ”    20.--SKULL OF DITTO                                      90
+
+    ”    21.--HEAD OF SOWERBY’S WHALE                            104
+
+    ”    22.--BELUGA, CAUGHT BY THE TAIL                         109
+
+    ”    23.--GRAMPUS                                            112
+
+    ”    24.--_Pseudorca crassidens_                             114
+
+    ”    25.--RISSO’S DOLPHIN                                    116
+
+    ”    26.--PILOT WHALE                                        118
+
+    ”    27.--COMMON DOLPHIN                                     122
+
+    ”    28.--BOTTLE-NOSED DOLPHIN                               124
+
+    ”    29.--WHITE-BEAKED DOLPHIN                               126
+
+        *       *       *       *       *
+
+ TABLE OF BRITISH CETACEA                                         48
+
+    ”     DIFFERENCES OF BRITISH MYSTACOCETI                      82
+
+
+
+
+                            SEALS AND WHALES
+
+                                 OF THE
+
+                              BRITISH SEAS.
+
+The two great groups of Marine Mammals known as _Pinnipedia_ and
+_Cetacea_, although widely separated from each other zoologically,
+naturally present themselves to us side by side as inhabiting the
+same regions; the facilities for studying the one are also equally
+favourable for obtaining a knowledge of the other. It is remarkable
+that in few groups of the animal world, until recently, has so much
+confusion existed as in the Seals and Whales. This has, of late years,
+through the labours of European and American naturalists, to some
+extent been remedied, although very much still remains to be done, the
+literature of the subject being still so scattered, that much of it is
+inaccessible to the ordinary student. The arrangement and nomenclature
+adopted in the following short account of the Seals and Whales
+inhabiting or occurring in the seas, or on the shores, surrounding the
+British Islands, is that used by Mr. Alston in the second edition of
+Bell’s ‘British Quadrupeds.’
+
+
+PINNIPEDIA.
+
+The _Pinnipedia_ (fin-footed) forms a well-marked sub-order of the
+Carnivora, and may be divided into three distinct families--the
+_Phocidæ_, or true Seals; the _Trichechidæ_, represented by one species
+only--the Walrus; and the _Otariidæ_, or Eared Seals.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 1. HIND FLIPPERS OF RINGED SEAL (_after Murie_).
+
+=A=, opened out; =B=, closed.]
+
+The _Phocidæ_ are found both in the Northern and Southern hemispheres,
+most plentifully in the cold regions, but extending into the temperate
+seas; in the Northern hemisphere they are found as far south as 40° N.
+latitude; two species, however, are said to be sub-tropical. The true
+Seals may readily be distinguished by the absence of external ears,
+and the position of the posterior limbs, which are not adapted for
+progression on land, but admirably suited for propelling the animal
+through the element in which it obtains its sustenance. These limbs are
+directed backwards, and compressed laterally, the soles of the flippers
+being turned inwards, and are only free from the ankle-joints. (Fig.
+1). Like the whole group, the Seals are carnivorous. Five species are
+believed to have occurred on our shores.
+
+The family of _Trichechidæ_ is limited to one genus, and that
+consisting of only one species, the Walrus or Morse, which is
+essentially Arctic in its habitat, and on our coasts can only be
+regarded as a very rare and accidental straggler; in this animal there
+is no external ear; its limbs are adapted for raising the body from the
+ground, thus enabling it to progress by their means upon dry land.
+
+The third family, _Otariidæ_, consists of several genera and species
+(according to Gray); they are distinguished from both _Phocidæ_ and
+_Trichechus_ by the presence of external ear-conchs, and from the
+former by the structure of their limbs, which are free and adapted for
+progression upon land, where at a certain season they take up their
+abode for a considerable period. Dr. Pettigrew also points out that the
+fore-feet are hardly used by the true Seals as means of propulsion in
+the water, whereas in the Eared Seals they form the chief organs used
+for that purpose, and in the Walrus all four limbs are employed. The
+Eared Seals inhabit the lonely shores and islands of the Pacific Ocean
+and South Seas, where they are hunted for their skins; the beautiful
+“seal-skin” of commerce, so much prized for its lustre and softness,
+being the dyed and prepared under-fur of some members of this family.
+The _Otariidæ_ are not represented in our fauna.
+
+The true Seals spend most of their time in the water, but visit the
+shore or ice to bask in the sun or bring forth their young; this last
+takes place early in the summer, and it is seldom that more than one is
+produced at a birth. Some species enter the water almost immediately
+after birth, but others are two or three weeks before they leave the
+ice, quitting it at first very unwillingly, but soon becoming expert
+at swimming and diving. The power of the Seal to remain beneath the
+water for lengthened periods Dr. Wallace[1] believes to be acquired
+rather than structural. Their food consists of crustacea and fish, with
+an occasional sea-bird. Some species are migratory in their habits.
+In disposition they are usually timid and gentle, and capable of
+attachment, when in confinement, to those who feed and attend them. The
+Bladder-nose and Grey Seals, however, appear to be exceptions to this
+rule; the former is said to be fierce and vindictive, rather courting
+than fleeing from danger, and altogether a formidable opponent. Their
+great affection for their young is made use of by the sealers for their
+destruction.
+
+Although Seals are not found in sufficient numbers round our own
+coast to be of any commercial value, in the Northern Seas, where they
+congregate in vast numbers at the breeding season, the seal-fishery is
+of great importance as a branch of industry, and finds employment for
+a large number of vessels and men, both from this country and from the
+ports of Northern Europe. In the Greenland seal-fishery the Norwegian
+whalers had in 1874 sixteen steamers and nineteen sailing-ships, with
+an aggregate tonnage of 9,000 tons, manned by 1,600 sailors, and in the
+three years ending 1874 they killed 142,500 young Seals and 128,000 old
+ones, notwithstanding which the balance-sheet of the three years showed
+only a small profit on the steamers and a large loss on the sailing
+vessels.[2] An official return issued by Messrs. David Bruce and Co.,
+of Dundee, shows that in the season of 1879, eleven Dundee ships and
+five from Peterhead, were engaged in the Greenland seal-trade; the
+total catch of these sixteen ships was 35,044 Seals; four ships from
+Dundee visited Newfoundland and captured 70,355 Seals, making a total
+for the British ships alone of 105,399 Seals, exclusive of those
+wounded and lost, or otherwise destroyed. These produced 1280 tons of
+oil, worth about £25 per ton, or £32,000, exclusive of skins, which
+sell for about 5s. each. The majority of the Norwegian vessels also
+bring their cargoes to this country. Captain David Gray informs me that
+the seal-fishery was commenced from the Port of Peterhead, in the year
+1819, since which time to the close of the season of 1879, the large
+number of 1,673,052 Seals have been taken by the vessels belonging to
+that port. The Dundee vessels did not take part in the seal-fishery
+till the year 1860, but have from that time to 1879 taken 917,278
+Seals. This total is greatly swollen by the results of the Newfoundland
+fishery; four Dundee vessels in 1879 took 70,355 Seals in Newfoundland,
+whereas, in the same season, eleven Dundee and five Peterhead vessels
+took only 35,044 Seals in the Greenland fishery. The Dundee ships,
+after the Newfoundland fishery is ended, generally land their oil and
+skins at St. John’s, and proceed on their whaling voyage to Greenland
+and Davis’ Straits.
+
+Dr. Wallace[3] estimates the annual produce of the Greenland
+Seal-fishery alone at the sum of £116,000; the bulk of the seals taken
+are the Harp Seal (_Phoca grœnlandica_).
+
+Several attempts had been made to establish a seal-fishery at
+Newfoundland, from the port of Dundee, but with small success till
+the year 1876: in that year Messrs. Alexander Stephen and Son secured
+premises at St. John’s, and sent out two vessels to be manned chiefly
+by a Newfoundland crew; the result was a great success, and this firm
+has since prosecuted the fishing with very satisfactory results. The
+Dundee Seal and Whale Fishing Company have also three steamers in
+the trade, in addition to those engaged at the Greenland fishery.
+Mr. David Bruce, of Dundee, to whom I am indebted for the above
+particulars, informs me that the season of 1880 was a failure in the
+Newfoundland fishery, and that out of a fleet of twenty-four steamers,
+not more than six of them would pay their expenses.
+
+Mr. J. A. Allen[4] gives an interesting account of the rise and
+progress of the Newfoundland fishery, which he characterises as “the
+sealing-ground, _par excellence_, of the world, twice as many Seals
+being taken here by the Newfoundland fleet alone as by the combined
+sealing-fleets of Great Britain, Germany, and Norway, in the icy seas
+about Jan Mayen, or the so-called ‘Greenland Sea’ of the whalemen and
+sealers.” So early as 1721, thousands of “sea-wolves” were killed
+in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but, according to Mr. Michael Carroll,
+of Bonavista, Newfoundland, in his account of the ‘Seal and Herring
+Fisheries of Newfoundland,’ published in 1873, as quoted by Mr. Allen,
+it was not till the year 1763 that the seal-fishery was regularly
+prosecuted there by vessels specially equipped for the purpose. The
+trade, however, rapidly assumed importance, and in 1807 thirty vessels
+from Newfoundland alone were engaged in it. In 1834 the Newfoundland
+fleet had increased to three hundred and seventy-five, besides a
+considerable number of vessels from Nova Scotia and the Magdalen
+Islands; in 1857 the number of vessels employed appears to have reached
+its maximum, exceeding three hundred and seventy, whilst the catch of
+Seals was estimated at 500,000. About the year 1866, steamships were
+first introduced, and have ever since been increasingly employed; the
+result has been a steady decrease in the number of vessels, which,
+in 1871, were reduced to one hundred and forty-six sailing vessels
+and fifteen steamers, or less than one-half, but the number of Seals
+taken annually, up to 1873, appears to have remained about the same,
+and, notwithstanding the enormous destruction of these creatures,
+which takes place every season on the Newfoundland sealing grounds,
+many thousands of which, from the wasteful methods employed in their
+capture, are never accounted for, Mr. Carroll is still of opinion that
+up to the year 1873, their numbers were actually on the increase: this
+can hardly continue much longer to be the case.
+
+I will only mention one of the methods employed by the Newfoundland
+sealers, which must eventually be attended with the most disastrous
+effects. This mode is technically called “panning.” Mr. Carroll,
+writing in 1871 says, “No greater injury can possibly be done to the
+seal-fishery than that of bulking Seals on pans of ice by crews of
+ice-hunters. Thousands of Seals are killed and bulked, and never seen
+afterwards. When the men come up with a large number of old and young
+Seals, that cannot get into the water, owing to the ice being in one
+solid jam, they drive them together, selecting a pan surrounded with
+rafted ice, on which thousands of Seals are placed one over the other,
+perhaps fifteen feet deep. A certain number of men is picked out by the
+ship-master to pelt and put on board the bulked Seals, whilst other
+men are sent to kill more. It often happens that the men are obliged
+to go from one to ten miles, before they come up with the Seals again,
+and very often the men pile from five hundred to two thousand in each
+bulk, which bulks are from one to two miles apart; care is also taken
+that flags are stuck up as a guide to direct the men where to find such
+bulked Seals. So uncertain is the weather, and precarious the shifting
+about of the ice, as well as heavy falls of snow and drift, that very
+often such bulked Seals are never seen again by the men that killed
+and bulked them, as the vessels and steamships are frequently driven
+by gales of wind far out of sight or reach of them, and frequently
+wheeled or driven into another spot, when the men again commence
+killing and bulking as before. In many instances it has happened that
+the crews of vessels, as well as the crews of steamships, have killed
+and bulked twice their load. No doubt Seals that are bulked are
+often picked up by the crews of other vessels, but such is the law,
+that as long as the flags are erected upon the bulks, and the vessel
+or steamship is in sight, no man can take them, notwithstanding the
+vessel’s or steamship’s men that bulked them may be ten miles away from
+them, whilst another vessel may be driven within a quarter of a mile
+of thousands of bulked Seals, but, owing to the law, dare not take
+them.” The skins, if left, are also liable to injury by the frost or
+sun, or by the capsizing of the pan they may be totally lost. In the
+spring of 1872, some five thousand Seals, obtained to the westward of
+Bonavista, by the inhabitants of that place, were heaped upon the ice.
+“There were thirteen flags to be seen in the morning over bulked Seals,
+and when the drift ice struck the land in the evening, only six of the
+flags were visible, the ice having rafted over both flags and Seals.
+Some days after, when the ice moved off from the shore, several bulks
+of Seals were found, but in such a putrid state that they could not be
+handled.”[5] Comment upon the consequences which must speedily result
+from such lamentable waste of life is needless.
+
+Nor, until very recently, was the seal-fishery in the Greenland Seas
+prosecuted with any greater regard to humanity or economy. “Supposing
+the sealing prosecuted with the same vigour as at present,” says Dr.
+Brown, “I have little hesitation in stating that before thirty years
+shall have passed away, the seal-fishery, as a source of commercial
+revenue, will have come to a close, and the progeny of the immense
+number of Seals now swimming about in Greenland waters will number
+but comparatively few.” Dr. Brown’s remarks were written in the year
+1868, and the prediction is already virtually fulfilled: a report,
+giving an account of the success of the Dundee vessels employed in
+the Newfoundland seal-fishery in 1877, after stating that 39,000
+Seals were said to have been captured by two vessels, concludes
+thus:--“Previously all Dundee vessels were employed at the _Greenland_
+seal-fishing, but Captain Adams has for some years been of opinion
+that _that ground is practically used up_, and hence his visit to
+Newfoundland.”
+
+I will spare the reader, as much as possible, a repetition of the
+horrors of this cruel trade, and make only a single quotation from a
+letter written by an old and experienced sealer, Captain David Gray, of
+the steamship _Eclipse_. He says that five ships in 1873 shot among the
+old Seals for four days until the pack was utterly ruined. “I suppose,”
+he continues, “about 10,000 old Seals had been taken. Add 20 per cent.
+for Seals mortally wounded and lost, gives an aggregate of 12,000 old
+ones; add 12,000 young ones which died of starvation (their parents
+being killed before the young ones were of any value or able to shift
+for themselves), gives 24,000 ... The whole of the young brood was
+destroyed, and had these Seals been left alone for eight or ten days,
+I am quite within the mark when I say that, instead of only taking 300
+tons of oil out of them, 1,500 could as easily have been got, and that
+without touching an old one.”[6] So great are the cruelties perpetrated
+by the crews of the sealers, that even the men themselves, hardened as
+they are, sicken at the work, and cry shame that the law does not put
+a stop to them. Let anybody who cares to know what fearful cruelties
+man is capable of perpetrating for gain, read Captain Gray’s letter.
+As a remedy for this waste of life (of course its cruelties can only
+be modified) Captain Gray suggested that the ships should be kept from
+sailing before the 25th of March, about a month later than they then
+started; they would then not reach the fishery and find the young
+Seals until they were sufficiently grown to be worth killing, and the
+frightful waste of life which occurred from the destruction of the
+old Seals before the young ones were able to shift for themselves,
+resulting in the death from starvation of the whole brood, thus be put
+a stop to.
+
+With this object in view, an Act was passed in 1875, in which the
+Foreign States interested concurred, prohibiting the killing of the
+Seals before the 3rd of April in each year; from some misunderstanding
+this Act was not enforced in the season of 1876, but in 1877 it was
+rigidly observed by the ships of all nations engaged in the fishery.
+The result of the season’s fishing was very unsatisfactory, owing to
+the absence of the large bodies of Seals which formerly were met with.
+Captain Gray, after three years’ experience of the operation of this
+Act, considers that the fishing still opens too early,[7] and that an
+additional three days are necessary to enable the young Seals to arrive
+at their best, and prevent the useless slaughter of the old ones, which
+are getting thin from being suckled. He is of opinion that, since the
+introduction of the close time, the Greenland Seals are not diminishing
+quite so rapidly as they were, but that the restriction has not been in
+operation long enough to form a very accurate opinion.
+
+The Walrus is even more rapidly and surely becoming exterminated than
+the Seal; it has become extinct from station after station, and but
+for its ice-loving habits, which render its present strongholds always
+difficult and sometimes impossible of access, it would now probably,
+like Steller’s Rhytina, have to be spoken of in the past tense.
+
+
+THE COMMON SEAL.
+
+This species, _Phoca vitulina_, of Linnæus, is, _par excellence_, the
+COMMON SEAL of the British waters. It is found, although in greatly
+reduced numbers, on unfrequented shores and sands, from the Orkney and
+Shetland Islands, where it most abounds, to Cornwall, occasionally
+ascending estuaries and rivers for a considerable distance, but never
+quitting the immediate vicinity of the water. According to Bell, it
+occurs on both sides the North Atlantic, and is common in Spitzbergen,
+Greenland, and Davis’s Straits; also Northern Russia, Scandinavia,
+Holland, and France, and is said to occur occasionally in the
+Mediterranean.[8] It figures largely in the returns of the Danish and
+Greenland fishery, where the number killed annually of this species and
+_Ph. hispida_ is estimated by Dr. Brown at about 70,000.
+
+Low, who died in 1795, says in the ‘Fauna Oncadensis,’ “A ship commonly
+goes from this place once a-year to Soliskerry, and seldom returns
+without 200 or 300 Seals;” these they killed by landing on the rock,
+and knocking them on the head. He also says that in North Ronaldsha
+they take them for the purpose of eating, and that the inhabitants
+say “they make good ham.” Though at present far less numerous than
+formerly, it is still abundant in the unfrequented bays and sounds
+of the Orkney and Shetland Islands; also, on the Hebrides. On the
+mainland, Mr. Alston (‘Fauna of Scot.’ _Proc. Glasgow Nat. Hist. Soc._)
+says it is found in all localities where it is free from intrusion,
+especially on the North and West shores; it is also common on some
+parts of the Irish Coast. In Wales it is not uncommon, and on the
+Cornish, and some few other favoured localities of the English coast
+it is still well known; on other parts of our shores it is decidedly
+rare. In the great estuary between the Norfolk and Lincolnshire coasts,
+called the “Wash,” this species frequents the sand-banks left dry at
+low water, and, doubtless, many young ones are produced there annually.
+At birth, which takes place about the month of June, the young Seal is
+covered with a coat of white woolly hair, which is shed in parturition,
+or shortly after, and the young one takes to the water when only a
+few hours old. Mr. Bartlett gives an account of the birth of a young
+one (at the time believed to be _Ph. hispida_) in the Zoological
+Gardens,[9] and states that it completely divested itself of its coat
+of fur and hair in a few minutes, and was swimming and diving about
+within three hours of its birth; its mother turned on her side to let
+it suck, and its voice was a low, soft “ba.” The first coat is not shed
+so quickly in some species, nor do they all take to the water at so
+early an age; as, for example, _Ph. grœnlandica_, which is two or three
+weeks before it leaves the ice.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 2. SKELETON OF SEAL.]
+
+The total length of the adult is about 4 to 5 feet, and its coat is
+generally of a yellowish colour, thickly spotted with black on the back
+and upper parts, but less distinctly so on the sides. The under parts
+are a bright silvery hue; there is, however, considerable variety in
+colour and in the distinctness of the spots. This species is readily
+domesticated, and displays great intelligence, and even affection for
+those who feed and tend it. Almost everybody must have been struck with
+the docility displayed by the Seals which are occasionally exhibited
+as “talking fish.” At the Zoological Gardens and at the Brighton and
+other Aquaria, where they are a never-failing source of attraction,
+their graceful movements in their confined homes cannot fail to excite
+admiration. Swimming silently and swiftly along, the animal threads
+with the greatest accuracy the intricacies of its narrow pond, assuming
+every possible attitude, and turning over and over in its course,
+as much at ease when swimming on its back as in its usual position.
+When, tired with this exercise, it comes to the edge of its pond and
+raises itself out of the water, its rounded head, and bright, full
+black eyes have something almost human in their expression, and the
+fabled “mermaid” seems a reality; but when once it leaves the water,
+it is clearly seen that it is no longer in the element in which it is
+destined to live and move, for its motions are laboured and awkward
+in the extreme. It throws itself along, first on one side and then
+on the other, just as a man tightly sewn in a sack would do, but,
+notwithstanding its clumsiness, contrives to make considerable progress.
+
+This species may be distinguished by the arrangement of its molar
+teeth, which are placed obliquely along either side of the jaw, not
+in a line with each other. It has been said that this is only a
+characteristic of youth, and that the peculiar arrangement disappears
+“before the skull attains its maximum size.” In the second edition of
+Bell’s ‘Quadrupeds,’ however, the authors express their belief that
+“it will be found a characteristic of all ages, although certainly
+more marked in the young than in very old animals.” Dr. Brown says
+that the Greenland Seal (_Ph. grœnlandica_) in its second coat has
+often been mistaken for this species, but that the former may readily
+be distinguished by its having the second toe of the fore flipper the
+longest. The hair next the skin is short and woolly, but externally
+harsh and shining, admirably adapted for repelling the water in
+which the animal passes so much of its time; the whiskers with which
+the upper lip is furnished, are thick, flattened hairs, laterally
+compressed, presenting diamond-shaped inequalities: this form of
+bristle is found in all the British Seals, whereas _Phoca barbata_, a
+species shortly to be mentioned as of doubtful occurrence on our coast,
+has the bristles compressed, but smooth. The food of the Common Seal
+consists of fish and crustacea.
+
+
+THE RINGED, OR MARBLED SEAL.
+
+The only recorded instance of the occurrence of the RINGED SEAL, _Phoca
+hispida_, of Schreber, on the British coast, is that of an individual
+captured on the Norfolk coast, in June, 1846, and purchased by Mr.
+J. H. Gurney, in the flesh, in the Norwich fish-market, the skull of
+which is now in the Museum of that city. Although no other instance
+of its occurrence is on record, it seems not improbable that it may
+occasionally be met with, and pass unrecognized. In the first volume
+of the ‘Magazine of Zoology and Botany,’ Mr. Wilson, in a paper on the
+Scottish Seals, speaks of a small Seal which was sometimes seen in the
+Hebrides, and believed by the natives to be a distinct species: this
+was rendered probable by their not associating with the Common Seals,
+and not being so wild in their nature. It is thought that this small
+Seal may have been _Ph. hispida_. Small dark-coloured Seals have more
+than once been seen on the Norfolk and Lincolnshire coast, or exhibited
+in the towns, which it is quite possible also may have belonged to this
+species. That it inhabited the coast of Scotland in the past, there is
+evidence in the abundance of the remains of this species found in the
+glacial clays of that country, as identified by Professor Turner.[10]
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 3. RINGED SEAL (_Phoca hispida_).]
+
+The small Seal found in the inland fresh-waters of Lake Baikal is
+believed to be a variety of this species, differing only in its darker
+colour; it has, however, been separated, under the name of _Ph.
+baikalensis_ by M. Dybowski (_Arch. f. Anat. u. Phys._, 1873, p. 109).
+The type of _Ph. discolor_, F. Cuv., was taken in the Channel, and,
+according to De Sélys-Longchamps, this species has also occurred on the
+Belgian coast.
+
+At present its home is the high latitudes of the Arctic seas,
+especially parallels 76 and 77 deg. North, and many are killed in
+South Greenland. In Davis’s Straits it is found all the year round,
+particularly up the ice-fjords; in Cumberland Gulf it is said to
+be by far the most common Seal, and forms the principal food of
+the Esquimaux. This was the only species found by the late Arctic
+expedition north of Cape Union, 82° 15′ N. lat. Captain Feilden, the
+Naturalist to Sir G. Nares’ Arctic Expedition, in an account of the
+‘Mammalia of North Greenland and Grinnell Land’ (_Zoologist_, 1877,
+p. 359), thus speaks of this species:--“The Ringed Seal was met with
+in most of the bays we entered during our passage up and down Smith
+Sound. It was the only species seen north of Cape Union, and which
+penetrates into the Polar Sea. Lieutenant Aldrich, R.N., during his
+autumn sledging, in 1875, noticed a single example in a pool of water
+near Cape Joseph Henry, and a party which I accompanied in September,
+1875, secured one in Dumbell Harbour, some miles north of the winter
+quarters of the “Alert”: its stomach contained remains of crustaceans
+and annelids. In June of the following year I observed three or four
+of these animals on the ice of Dumbell Harbour. They had made holes in
+the bay ice that had formed in this protected inlet. The polar pack was
+at this time of the year firmly wedged against the shores of Grinnell
+Land, and so tightly packed in Robeson Channel that no Seal could by
+any possibility have worked its way into this inlet from outside. I am,
+therefore, quite satisfied that _Phoca hispida_ is resident throughout
+the year in the localities mentioned. A female killed on the 23rd
+August, 1876, weighed 65 lbs.” This species has, therefore, probably
+the most northerly habitat of any existing mammal.
+
+Dr. Brown, in his paper on the ‘Greenland Seals’ (_Proc. Zool. Soc._,
+June, 1868,) gives an interesting account of this species, which,
+like the preceding, is littoral in its habits, seldom frequenting
+the open sea, but found generally in the neighbourhood of the coast
+ice, in retired situations. It is known by the whalers as the “Floe
+rat,” and its food consists of various species of crustacea and small
+fishes. This is the smallest of the Northern Seals, and of very little
+commercial value: its flesh, however, is eaten, and its skin forms the
+chief material of clothing in Greenland.
+
+In appearance, this species is very like the Common Seal; but it is
+darker in colour, more particularly on the back, and the spots in the
+adult are surrounded by oval-shaped whitish rings; the young ones are
+lighter in colour. The old male is said to emit a most disgusting
+smell: hence one of its specific names, “fœtida.” Dr. Rink says that
+this unpleasant odour is more developed in those which are captured
+in the interior ice-fjords, “which are also, on an average perhaps,
+twice as large as those generally occurring off the outer shores.
+When brought into the hut, and cut up on its floor, such a Seal emits
+a smell resembling something between that of assafœtida and onions,
+almost insupportable to strangers. This peculiarity is not noticeable
+in the younger specimens, or those of a smaller size, such as are
+generally caught, and at all events the smell does not detract from the
+utility of the flesh over the whole of Greenland.”[11]
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 4. GREENLAND SEAL (_Phoca grœnlandica_).
+
+Adult and Immature.]
+
+The molar teeth in this species are arranged in a straight line along
+the jaws, and not obliquely, as in the common species. As this Seal is
+very likely to pass unnoticed, should it occur on our coast, it will
+be well to bear in mind that this arrangement of the molars will at
+once distinguish it from _Ph. vitulina_, the only species with which
+it is likely to be confounded. Professor Flower has given a minute
+description of the skull of the Norfolk specimen in the ‘_Proc. Zool.
+Soc._’ for 1871, pp. 506-12. The figure of this species is copied from
+Karl Thorin’s ‘Grundlinier Zoologiens Studium,’ p. 53 (Stockholm, 1868).
+
+
+THE GREENLAND SEAL.
+
+The claims of the GREENLAND SEAL, _Phoca grœnlandica_ (Fab.), to a
+place in the British Fauna, although long considered highly probable,
+were not rendered perfectly conclusive until 1874, when they were
+satisfactorily established by Professor Turner’s identification of a
+Seal killed in January, 1868, near the viaduct on the Lancaster and
+Ulverstone Railway, and now preserved in the Kendal Museum. Professor
+Turner (‘_Journal of Anatomy and Physiology_,’ vol. ix. p. 163) says
+that he has himself examined this specimen, and found the dentition
+exactly to agree with that of the skulls of the Greenland Seals with
+which he compared it. The individual in question, a male, measured six
+feet from the tip of the nose to the “point of the hind toes,” and the
+colour indicated the age to be about three years. Previously to this,
+the claims of this species to a place in our list rested principally
+upon the skulls of two Seals killed in the Severn, and exhibited by
+Dr. Reilly at the meeting of the British Association at Bristol in
+1836. These skulls were at first referred by Professor Nilsson to
+_Ph. hispida_, but afterwards, both by that gentleman and Professor
+Bell, determined to belong to _Ph. grœnlandica_. Doubts having been
+thrown on the accuracy of this decision, Professor Bell, in the second
+edition of his ‘British Quadrupeds’ p. 253, again states his belief
+that he was correct in assigning them to the young of this species.
+These specimens are unfortunately lost. Several supposed cases of the
+occurrence of this species are recorded, but in no instance were they
+supported by the production of the animal itself. Dr. Saxby (‘_Zool._’
+1864) says that this Seal is not rare in bad weather in the Voe of
+Baltasound, Shetland; and Mr. H. Evans, of Darnley Abbey, Derbyshire,
+in the year 1856, shot what he believes to have been a Greenland Seal
+near Roundstone, county Galway,--“Unfortunately, the animal sank and
+was lost; but Mr. Evans, who is well acquainted with the common and
+grey species, is perfectly certain that it was quite different from
+either” (Bell, 2 edit., p. 254). Perhaps the best authenticated case of
+the supposed occurrence of this species on our shores is given by Mr.
+H. D. Graham in Part I., vol. i. of the ‘Proceedings of the Nat. Hist.
+Society of Glasgow,’ p. 53 (Feb. 24, 1863). Three large white Seals
+were seen by Mr. Graham in Loch Tabert, Jura, Western Isles, lying on
+some shelving rocks, about 300 or 400 yards from the shore. They were
+watched through an excellent deer-stalking telescope for three hours,
+and Mr. Graham states that the characteristic markings of the Harp Seal
+could be distinctly seen. He also believes that, in three authentic
+instances, captures of _white_ Seals, of extraordinary size, had been
+made, and states some particulars of the habits and appearance of these
+animals, as communicated to him by the islanders--to whom they appear
+to have been well known,--which render it highly probable that they
+belonged to this species. Mr. J. A. Harvie-Brown[12] also saw four
+Seals, which he believes to have been of this species, on a rock in
+the Sound of Harris, on May 2nd, 1870. They took to the water, but
+as they “kept close in, and often rushed past within a few feet” of
+where he and his companion were standing, they had an excellent view of
+them, and “the large splashy-looking dark marks on either side of the
+back” were distinctly visible. Although essentially an Arctic species,
+this animal has a very wide geographical range, which, added to its
+migratory habits, renders it not at all improbable that individuals
+occasionally wander to our shores.
+
+This species is a native of the Arctic Ocean, and ranges from the
+N.E. coast of America to the Kara Sea (where it was found by the
+Swedish Arctic Expedition in 1875), changing its quarters according to
+season.[13] It is this species which constitutes the chief object of
+pursuit in the northern Seal-fishery, and the season chosen for the
+attack is when they visit the ice for the purpose of producing their
+young ones. Dr. Brown says, “They take to the ice, to bring forth
+their young, generally between the middle of March and the middle of
+April, according to the state of the season, &c., the most common time
+being about the end of March. At this time they can be seen literally
+covering the frozen waste, with the aid of a telescope, from the
+‘crow’s-nest,’ at the main royal mast-head, and have on such occasions
+been calculated to number upwards of half a million of males and
+females.”[14] The young, when born, are pure white, which changes to
+a yellow tint. At about 14 days old they begin to take to the water,
+and at the age of a month are capable of taking care of themselves:
+they then assume a spotted coat, which changes gradually to the adult
+markings, which are perfected in about three years. The adult male is
+about five feet long, the body generally of a tawny grey, varying to
+nearly white, marked with a conspicuous band of dark brown or black
+spots running into each other, which, commencing on the upper part of
+the back between the shoulders and curving downwards, is continued
+along the sides, disappearing before it reaches the hind flippers.
+The under parts are a dingy white, and the muzzle nearly black. The
+female, according to Dr. Brown, rarely reaches five feet in length,
+and is a dull white or yellowish straw-colour, tawny on the back, and
+with similar markings to the male, but somewhat lighter. Some are
+bluish or dark grey on the back, with “oval markings of a dark colour
+apparently impressed on a yellowish or reddish-brown ground:” these,
+Dr. Brown believes to be young females. The adult Greenland Seal is
+readily recognized, but it varies so greatly in its different stages
+of immaturity, and individuals differ so much from each other, that
+the most trustworthy characters are to be found in the dentition and
+the structure of the skull, which should in all cases be preserved, as
+affording the most ready and reliable means of determining the species
+of doubtful individuals. As has before been said, the second toe of the
+fore flipper is the longest in this species.
+
+
+HOODED SEAL.
+
+The HOODED OR BLADDER-NOSED SEAL, _Cystophora cristata_ (Erxleben),
+fig. 5, has occurred at least thrice upon our shores. In June, 1847, a
+young one was killed in the Orwell, and is now in the Ipswich Museum;
+in 1872 a second young one was killed in Scotland near St. Andrew’s;
+and a third specimen, an adult male, was caught in February, 1873, at
+Frodsham, on the Cheshire side of the Mersey, and lived in captivity
+till the beginning of the following June (Pr. Liverpool Soc. xxvii.
+p. 63). Others are believed to have been obtained in the Orkneys. Mr.
+Howard Saunders was assured that the “Bladder-nose” is well-known as a
+visitor to the Vae Skerries, Shetland (Alston’s ‘Mammalia of Scotland,’
+p. 15); and a Seal supposed to be of this species was seen off the
+Irish coast near Westport. In Hollingshed’s ‘Chronicles,’ in the year
+1577, sundry fishes of monstrous shape, with cowls on their heads like
+monks, and in the rest resembling the body of a man, are said to have
+occurred in the Firth of Forth (Bell’s ‘Brit. Quads.’), the appearance
+of which was of course followed by pestilence and famine. Throughout
+the Polar seas this species is widely distributed, being found in the
+Greenland seas, Iceland, and Spitzbergen, also occasionally in the
+temperate waters of Europe and America. It is polygamous and migratory
+in its habits: during the rutting season it is very pugnacious, and
+Dr. Brown says great battles take place between the males, and their
+roaring is said to be so loud that it can be heard for miles off. The
+young, which are born in April, are pure white at first, which changes
+to grey, and gradually becomes darker till it assumes the adult colour
+and markings, which it appears to do about the fourth year; the colour
+then is “dark chestnut or black, with a greater or less number of
+round or oval markings of a still deeper hue.” The adult is furnished
+with a curious bladder-like appendage, commencing at the nostrils,
+with which it is connected, and continued upwards to the forehead:
+this, when inflated, presents a very remarkable appearance; when the
+animal is at rest it remains flaccid, but when irritated or excited,
+it is blown up to its full extent. It is generally believed that the
+“bladder” is found only in the male, but Dr. Brown does not think there
+is any just ground for this belief; he does not, however, assign any
+reason for doubting what has been positively asserted to be the case.
+The Bladder-nose Seal is fierce in its nature and dangerous to attack;
+although not actually taking the initiative it is always ready for
+battle, and will avail itself of any advantage by turning upon and
+following its opponent. The air-bladder, which is placed in the spot
+usually most vulnerable, renders it difficult to kill, as it forms a
+protection from the clubs of the sealers. This is one of the largest of
+the Northern Seals, varying, according to different authorities, from 7
+to 10 or even 12 feet in length. The first toe of the fore flipper is
+the longest.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 5. HOODED SEAL (_Cystophora cristata_).]
+
+
+THE GREY SEAL.
+
+One other species of true Seal, the GREY SEAL, _Halichœrus gryphus_
+(Fab.), claims a place in the British Fauna. Dr. Brown says the Grey
+Seal “has no doubt been frequently confounded with other species,
+particularly _Ph. barbata_ and _Ph. grœnlandica_.” Such has undoubtedly
+been the case, and a specimen in the British Museum, long regarded as
+_Ph. barbata_, has been referred to this species. There is, I believe,
+no sufficient evidence that _Ph. barbata_ has ever occurred on the
+British coast; but so imperfect even now is our acquaintance with the
+Seals which frequent our shores, that it may even yet be found. As
+before mentioned, the bristles forming the “whiskers” of _Ph. barbata_,
+are simple flattened hairs, without the impressed pattern found in
+the bristles of the known British species; they are nearly the same
+thickness throughout, and sharply curved near the end.
+
+The Grey Seal has been found on various parts of the coast, from
+Shetland to the Isle of Wight; the Orkney and Shetland Isles, the
+Hebrides, and the west coast of Ireland, however, appear to be its
+chief places of resort on our shores; it has also been known to breed
+on the Fern Islands. Haskier Island, off North Uist, has long been
+known as a favourite breeding-place of this species. Captain Elwes,
+who visited this island on the 30th June, 1868 (‘Ibis,’ 1869, p. 25),
+informed Mr. Harvie-Brown that, up to the year 1858, an annual battle
+was held there in the month of November, when the Seals resort to the
+rocks with their young ones, and that from forty to one hundred, old
+and young, would be killed. This wholesale destruction has been put a
+stop to, and as it is extremely shy and difficult to approach at other
+seasons, it is to be hoped that this species may for some time escape
+extermination in this favourite resort.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 6. GREY SEAL (_Halichœrus gryphus_).]
+
+According to Bell, this species inhabits the “temperate northern seas
+rather than the Polar waters,” and is found in the North Sea, Baltic,
+Iceland, Scandinavia, Denmark, and North Germany. Dr. Brown met with
+a specimen a little south of Discoe Island, but can only speak of its
+claims to a place in the Greenland Fauna as strongly probable. Bell
+gives some interesting information with regard to the habits of this
+species as observed in various British stations, and calls attention
+to the remarkable fact, that whereas in this country it produces its
+young in the months of October and November, on the Continent this is
+always said to take place in February; he suggests, to account for
+this singular discrepancy, that in our milder climate pairing takes
+place much earlier than in Scandinavia. The young, which are born
+white, are suckled for about a fortnight; the first coat is shed before
+they take to the water, which is not for some weeks after birth. The
+colour varies with age, sex, and season, so much, that it is not of
+great service in their identification, their large size being the best
+external guide. Lloyd, in his ‘Game-birds and Wild-fowl of Sweden and
+Norway,’ speaking of this species, says that even should it somewhat
+resemble the Common Seal in size and colour, as is at times the case,
+it may always be readily distinguished from the latter by the greater
+length of its claws and the superior breadth of its muzzle. The claws
+project considerably beyond the ends of the toes, the first of which is
+the longest. The general colour of the adult is greyish, tinged with
+yellow, and spotted and blotched with darker grey; the under parts
+lighter. The length of the adult varies from 7 to 10 feet. By the form
+of its skull and teeth it is readily distinguished, as well as by the
+great size of the animal. In the skull the brain-case is small, the
+nasal opening very large, and the grinders conical, only the two hinder
+pair in the upper, and the last pair in the lower jaw, double-rooted,
+the rest simple. Professor Bell, in his history of ‘British
+Quadrupeds,’ gives the generic and specific characters, as well as
+excellent figures of the skulls of the various British Seals, which
+will be found most useful in determining the species of any doubtful
+individuals; other figures will be found in Dr. Gray’s ‘Catalogue of
+the Seals and Whales in the British Museum.’
+
+
+THE WALRUS, OR MORSE.
+
+Of the many strange forms which the Zoological Society of London
+has been the means of introducing to the stay-at-home naturalists
+of this country, certainly not the least interesting is that of the
+Walrus (_Trichechus rosmarus_, Linn.) It is true that in neither of
+the instances in which the young animal has been brought alive to the
+Gardens, has it long survived in its new home; but, short though its
+residence amongst us, the opportunity has been afforded to many of
+becoming acquainted with the Arctic stranger in _propriâ personâ_,
+instead of through the distorted medium of the badly-stuffed skins,
+or the equally bad representations of this interesting animal, which,
+until recently, we have possessed. The first recorded appearance of
+the Walrus in this country was, I believe, in 1624, when, according to
+Hakluyt’s ‘Pilgrimes,’ a young one was brought to England by Master
+Thomas Welden, in the _God-speed_, and duly presented at Court. In
+1853 the Zoological Society became possessed of a young one, which
+lived only a few days in their Gardens. On the 1st of November, 1867,
+another was received, which lived till the 19th of December, when it
+unfortunately died, notwithstanding the care bestowed upon it, both
+as regards food and accommodation. This last was captured by the
+whale-ship _Arctic_, on the 28th of August, 1867, in lat. 69° N. and
+long. 64° W., and brought to Dundee, whence it was conveyed by Mr.
+Bartlett to the Society’s Gardens. The captain of the _Arctic_ saw two
+or three hundred walruses basking upon the ice, and sent out his boats
+to the attack: among the killed was an old female followed by her young
+one; the latter was taken on board and eventually brought to England.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 7. WALRUS, OR MORSE (_Trichechus rosmarus_).]
+
+Although now confined to the icy seas of the Arctic circle, the Walrus
+was probably not uncommon on our shores in times long past. The skull
+is said to have been found in the peat near Ely, and Hector Boece,
+in his ‘Cronikles of Scotland,’ mentions it as a regular inhabitant
+of our shores in the end of the 15th century: in the present century
+it has occurred several times, although it must be considered as a
+very rare straggler, sadly out of its latitude. Wallace says that
+its fossil remains have been found in Europe as far south as France,
+and in America probably as far south as Virginia, and it was common
+in the Gulf of St. Lawrence so late as 1770 (Leith Adams). In recent
+times it has retreated before its great enemy, man, from the northern
+coasts of Scandinavia to the circumpolar ice of Asia, America, and
+Europe, sometimes, but rarely, reaching as far south as lat. 60°. In
+Smith’s Sound the Walrus does not appear to move further north than
+Cape Frazer, the meeting-place of the polar and southern tides: at this
+point Captain Feilden saw a single example. Whenever met with, it is
+the object of ruthless persecution, and is rapidly and surely becoming
+exterminated wherever man can reach it; and but for its ice-loving
+habits, which render its present strongholds always difficult, and
+sometimes impossible, of access, it would doubtless long ere this have
+become extinct.
+
+Recently it has been met with on our shores, according to Bell, on the
+coast of Harris in 1817; in the Orkneys in 1825; one was seen in 1827
+in Hoy Sound, but not captured; and in 1841 one was killed near Harris.
+Dr. Brown also states that two were seen, one in Orkney and the other
+in Shetland, in 1857. Prof. Heddle also informed Mr. Harvie-Brown that
+in 1849 or 1850 he saw an adult, and a young one, off the coast of the
+parish of Walls, in Orkney (Harvie-Brown, _Proc. Nat. Hist. Soc. of
+Glasgow_, 1879, p. 97.)[15]
+
+The _Trichechus_ may be considered as intermediate between the true
+Seals and the Eared Seals, to both of which families it has affinities:
+it is carnivorous, feeding on mollusks, fish, and when it can get it,
+the flesh of whales. The stomach of one, examined by Captain Feilden,
+contained a large amount of green fluid oil, in which small particles
+of _Ulva latissima_ could be detected, and minute fragments of the
+shells of _Mya_. Its habits were so well and succinctly described by
+Captain Cook a hundred years ago, that I cannot do better than quote
+his own words, the accuracy of which has since been amply confirmed.
+Whilst in Behring’s Straits, in lat. 70° 6′, and long. 196° 42′, on the
+19th of August, 1778, Cook first met with the Walrus: “they lie,” he
+says, “in herds of many hundreds upon the ice, huddling one over the
+other like swine, and roar or bray very loud; so that in the night, or
+in foggy weather, they gave us notice of the vicinity of the ice before
+we could see it. We never found the whole herd asleep, some being
+always on the watch. These, on the approach of the boat, would wake
+those next to them, and the alarm being thus gradually communicated,
+the whole herd would awake presently. But they were seldom in a hurry
+to get away till after they had been once fired at, then they would
+tumble one over the other into the sea in the utmost confusion; and if
+we did not at the first discharge kill those we fired at, we generally
+lost them, though mortally wounded. They do not appear to us to be that
+dangerous animal some authors have described; not even when attacked.
+They are rather more so to appearance than in reality. Vast numbers
+of them would follow and come close up to the boats, but the flash of
+a musquet in the pan, or even the bare pointing of one at them, would
+send them down in an instant. The female will defend the young one to
+the very last, and at the expense of her own life, whether in the water
+or upon the ice. Nor will the young one quit the dam, though she be
+dead; so that if you kill one you are sure of the other. The dam, when
+in the water, holds the young one between her fore-fins.”[16] Since
+Cook’s time the Walrus has learned to fear man, its only enemy except
+the Polar Bear, and is more difficult to approach. When wounded, or its
+young in danger, it has been known fiercely to attack the boats sent
+for its capture, striving to overturn them, and piercing their sides
+with its tusks: many serious accidents have been the result.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 8. _Vacca marina_ (reduced from Gesner).]
+
+The number of Walruses killed annually by the Norwegian and Russian
+hunters is very considerable; probably nearly an equal number are
+wounded and lost. As the female produces only a single young one at
+a birth, which is said to remain with the mother nearly two years,
+“until its tusks are grown long enough to be used in grubbing up the
+shell mud at the sea-bottom,” it will readily be imagined that the
+destruction is greatly in excess of the production, and that they
+are rapidly decreasing in numbers. A communication in the _Field_ of
+March 27th, 1880 (p. 381), received from St. Francisco, points out
+even more serious consequences resulting from the reckless destruction
+of the Walrus than the mere extermination of a species, itself a
+matter of no small regret. “If,” says the writer, “the whalers reach
+Behring Strait before the ice breaks up, they remain on the coast, and
+often hunt the Walrus for weeks together, with startling and serious
+results. Last year’s campaign was considered successful, as about
+11,000 Walruses were secured, most of them within the Arctic Sea. But
+to attain this result, _between thirty and forty thousand animals were
+killed_, so that only _one-third_ of the number destroyed were actually
+utilised. There can be no doubt as to the ultimate consequence of such
+glaring imprudence; but last year they were so painfully apparent as
+to touch even the hearts of those who occasioned them. Not that the
+whalers were moved to compassion by the victims themselves, but by
+the sufferings of the human beings who were deprived of their chief
+source of subsistence. The hardy tribes in the neighbourhood of Behring
+Strait literally cannot exist without the Walrus, and so long as they
+were its only human enemies the number destroyed was inconsiderable.
+But the herds soon dwindled under the superior weapons and appliances
+of civilised nations, and the survivors retreated, like the Whales,
+towards the Pole. By the end of last season, not a single Walrus was
+left on the coast, and the immediate result was such a terrible famine
+among the natives that the whalers themselves speak of it remorsefully.
+The population north of St. Lawrence Bay has been reduced by one-third;
+and in a village which formerly contained 200 inhabitants, only one man
+survived. Several of the whalers have consequently refused to take any
+part in future Walrus hunts on the coast; they assert that for every
+hundred animals killed, a native family must perish by starvation, and
+they will not incur so heavy a responsibility.”
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 9. HEAD OF WALRUS (Modified after Murie).]
+
+About the month of August they repair to the shore, and congregating in
+vast herds on the beach of some secluded bay, lie for weeks together
+in a semi-torpid condition, without moving or feeding. Should their
+retreat be discovered whilst in this state, great is the slaughter.
+Mr. Lamont, in his ‘Seasons with the Sea Horses,’ says that in 1852,
+on a small island off Spitzbergen (one of the Thousand Islands), two
+small sloops discovered a herd of Walruses consisting of three or four
+thousand, nine hundred of which they succeeded in killing, only a small
+portion of the produce of which, however, they were able to carry away.
+
+The colour of the Walrus is brown, paling with age, and the skin is
+thickly covered with short hairs; the adult reaches the length of 10
+or 15 feet, or, according to some authorities, even more, and weighs
+from two to three thousand pounds. Its rounded head, heavy muzzle,
+thickly set with stout bristles, small, round blood-shot eyes, and
+formidable tusks, give to this animal a ferocious appearance which
+is foreign to its nature, except when greatly excited or at pairing
+time, when the old bulls are said to fight with great fierceness and
+determination. A full-grown Walrus will yield from five to six hundred
+pounds of blubber, the oil from which, however, is not so fine as that
+of the Seal. The ivory tusks were formerly much used by dentists; at
+present, I believe, owing to the introduction of vulcanite, very little
+is applied to that purpose. Mr. Lamont mentions 24 in. in length and 4
+lb. each in weight, as the size of a good pair of bull’s tusks: a pair
+in the Norwich Museum measure 32 in. in length, and the heavier of the
+two weighs 9 lb. 9 oz. The immensely elongated canine teeth which form
+the “tusks,” are found in both sexes, but are shorter and more slender
+in the female than in the male. The skin of the Walrus is valuable for
+many purposes.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 10. “SEA HORSE” (_After Cook_).]
+
+Few animals, so long known to man, have, when figured, been represented
+so inaccurately as the Walrus: the hind feet are almost invariably
+depicted extended backwards, like those of the Seal (so also in stuffed
+specimens), whereas in the living animals they can be directed to the
+front, and serve as supports to the body in progression on the land or
+ice, in the same manner as the hind limbs of the eared seals. Dr. J.
+E. Gray, in an article ‘On the Attitudes and Figures of the Morse,’
+in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London for 1853, pp.
+112-16, reproduces some of the wonderful prints of this animal from old
+authors, most of which are purely imaginary: Fig. 8, p. 37, is copied
+from one of these. By far the best portrait known, till quite recently,
+is one published in Amsterdam in 1613, where an old female and her
+young one are very accurately depicted: this has been reproduced in
+Bell’s ‘British Quadrupeds,’ 2nd edition, p. 269. Fig. 10 is copied
+from the “Sea Horse,” in the foreground of Cook’s illustration in ‘A
+Voyage to the Pacific,’ &c., 1784 edit., vol. ii., p. 446; as will
+be seen, this figure forms the source from which most subsequent
+illustrations were derived. Fig. 7 is taken, by kind permission of the
+late Mr. F. Buckland, from his ‘Log-book of a Fisherman and Zoologist,’
+and represents “Jemmy,” the young Walrus, whose brief sojourn in the
+Zoological Gardens has already been referred to. One of Mr. Wolf’s
+“Zoological Sketches” represents a herd of Walruses in almost every
+conceivable attitude, and of course beautifully drawn and coloured.
+
+Some authors recognise two distinct species of Walrus, one of which
+is said to be confined to the northern shores of the Atlantic,
+the other to the Pacific Ocean. Mr. Allen, in the ‘North American
+Pinnipeds,’ enters at length into the subject, and minutely describes
+the peculiarities which characterise each species. Reviving, after the
+example of Malmgren, the almost obsolete generic name of _Odobænus_, he
+describes the Atlantic Walrus under the name _O. rosmarus_; the animal
+found in the Pacific he calls _O. obesus_. The chief external points
+of difference in the latter appear to be in the facial outline, the
+longer and thinner tusks, “generally more convergent, with much greater
+inward curvature; the mystacial bristles shorter and smaller, and the
+muzzle relatively deeper and broader, in corelation with the greater
+breadth and depth of the skull anteriorly.” The eyes are also said to
+lack the “fiery red” appearance attributed to the Atlantic Walrus,
+and to be smaller and very protuberant. Cook’s figure reproduced at
+p. 41, also that at p. 177 of Scammon’s book, are those of _Odobænus
+obesus_, and the fine pair of tusks mentioned at p. 40, as now in the
+Norwich Museum, were probably also obtained from a Pacific Walrus. The
+figure at p. 33, and the excellent figure by Wolf, at p. 457 of Lloyd’s
+‘Game-birds and Wild-fowl of Sweden and Norway,’ are of the Atlantic
+Walrus.
+
+It is much to be regretted that the extinction of this harmless and
+useful animal is merely a matter of time, and that perhaps before
+many years have passed it may have ceased to exist; the only hope
+appears to be that when it has become too scarce to render its
+pursuit remunerative, a remnant may still be left to continue the
+species around the far off and unapproachable islands of the Arctic
+seas. Even in Franz Josef Land, where, in the summer of 1880, Mr.
+Leigh-Smith found the Walrus very abundant: it will probably not
+long remain unmolested, for that gentleman informed Captain Feilden
+that the Norwegian walrus-hunters, when they heard of his discovery,
+talked of pushing on for Franz Josef Land next summer, the Spitsbergen
+walrus-hunting having become very uncertain, from the paucity and
+wariness of the animals.[17]
+
+
+
+
+CETACEA.
+
+
+The occasional stranding upon our shores of some monster member of the
+order CETACEA serves from time to time to reawaken our interest in
+these wonderful animals, and sets us thinking how little we know about
+them, and how small is our acquaintance with their life-history.
+
+Nor is this lack of information surprising when we consider that
+the difficulties in the way of studying the larger Cetacea, are so
+great as to be almost insuperable to any ordinary person, and even
+to the leaders of zoological science rarely does the opportunity
+present itself of examining specimens in the flesh; for, of the rare
+instances in which they are cast ashore, the majority occur in wild
+and unfrequented parts of the coast, where they are probably cut up
+for their oil before a naturalist has an opportunity of examining
+them. From their unnatural position when cast up, and their altered
+appearance, owing to the falling in of some parts and the distension of
+others, correct portraiture is almost impossible; and their great size
+renders it difficult and expensive to make them serviceable to science,
+while from the putrid condition in which they are frequently found, a
+close examination is too often anything but agreeable. If seen in their
+native element, where alone they _should_ be seen duly to appreciate
+their grand proportions and perfect adaptation to their mode of life,
+the view must be brief and too often distant, certainly affording rare
+opportunities for close observation. There is thus little left for
+naturalists to study, except the bony skeletons, and of these often
+mere fragments. Under these circumstances, we shall cease to wonder at
+the great confusion which, till recently, existed in the classification
+and nomenclature of the _Cetacea_, and which has been only partially
+cleared away, chiefly by the labours of Professors Flower and Turner
+in this country, and by Professors Eschricht, Reinhardt, Van Beneden,
+Gervais, and others on the continent. The literature of the subject is
+widely scattered and difficult of access; and, although Dr. Gray and
+Professor Flower have done much to condense and systematize what is
+known, our acquaintance with the tropical and southern species of this
+interesting order is not at present sufficient to furnish materials
+for a monograph worthy of the subject. No class of animals has been
+called so many names, or so vilely caricatured in portraits, as the
+unfortunate Whales.
+
+It is scarcely necessary now to say that the _Cetacea_ hold a fully
+recognized place in the great class _Mammalia_, although this honour
+has not always been accorded to them. Ray classed them with the Fishes;
+and although Linnæus finally placed them in their true position,
+Pennant, following his earlier mistake, failed to do so. The members
+of this order, which includes the Whales proper, Narwhal, Dolphins,
+and Porpoises (with which, until recently, the Dugong and Manatees
+were improperly associated under the name of Herbivorous Cetaceans),
+bring forth their young alive. These are nourished by the female,
+which, for this purpose, is furnished with two inguinal mammæ. They are
+warm-blooded, and breathe by means of lungs, rendering frequent visits
+to the surface of the water necessary, as the animal can only respire
+when the orifice of the nostrils, called the blow-hole, which is placed
+on the top of the head, is above water. The breathing apparatus is very
+peculiar, being so modified that the air is admitted into the trachea
+without passing through the mouth; the Whale can thus breathe freely,
+provided the blow-hole be above water, even when its mouth is submerged
+or filled with water. There are no external ears, but a small aperture
+situated just behind the eye, communicates with a perfectly-constructed
+internal hearing apparatus, and this, as the water is an excellent
+conductor of sound, is all-sufficient. The food of the _Cetacea_
+consists of various forms of marine animals, from the Seal, which
+frequently forms a meal to the fierce Grampus, to the minute creatures
+which go to build up the giant form of the Right-Whale. Some possess
+numerous formidable teeth in both jaws; others have teeth in the
+lower jaw only; and in one section the teeth are only present in the
+embryo, but in their stead, from the upper jaw depend curious plates,
+arranged side by side, to which the name of _baleen_ has been given.
+The animal is encased in a layer of fat called “blubber,” which lies
+beneath the skin, and serves to retain the heat of the body, and the
+skin is smooth, polished, and quite devoid of hair or scales. On the
+back of most species is found a fleshy dorsal fin, and the fore limbs
+are represented by flippers externally undivided; the hind limbs, so
+far as external appearance is concerned, are altogether absent, but a
+rudimentary pelvis is found embedded in the flesh. The tail-fin forms
+the chief organ of locomotion: it is always fixed horizontally, and is
+of great size and power, enabling the animal, by its vigorous use, to
+attain great speed. There are many and striking peculiarities in the
+bony skeleton which it is not necessary here to enumerate.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 11. MEDIAN SECTION, SHOWING OUTSIDE LEFT HALF OF
+SKULL OF WHALEBONE WHALE, WITH BALEEN IN POSITION (_modified after
+Eschricht_).
+
+  =Br.=, brain cavity; =J=, =J*=, upper and lower jaw-bones; =bo=,
+  =bo=, being roughened parts of the bone sawn through; arrows indicate
+  the narial passages, which open at =s=, spout-hole; =w=, whalebone;
+  =t=, tongue, in dotted outline; =n=, nerve aperture, lower jaw.
+]
+
+Before proceeding to give some account of the species which have been
+found in the British Seas, it will first be necessary to say a few
+words as to the arrangement of the genera and species. I shall enter
+into this part of the subject, however, so far only as is necessary for
+us clearly to understand the relative positions of the species which we
+shall have to consider.
+
+Professor Flower divides the order _Cetacea_ into two sub-orders:
+First, _Mystacoceti_, or _Balænoidea_, in all the members of
+which baleen takes the place of teeth, which are never developed,
+disappearing before birth; second, _Odontoceti_ or _Delphinoidea_,
+in which teeth (sometimes very numerous) are always developed after
+birth. The first sub-order is a very restricted one, embracing only
+two families, _Balænidæ_ and _Balænopteridæ_, to the former of which
+belong the two genera of Right-Whales, _Balæna_ and _Eubalæna_; and
+to the latter, two genera, namely, _Megaptera_ and _Balænoptera_. To
+these two genera[18] belong the Rorquals, which occasionally occur
+in the British seas. The second sub-order, _Odontoceti_, contains
+the families of _Physeteridæ_, represented by the Sperm Whale,
+Beaked Whale, and several allied species; _Platanistidæ_, consisting
+of some curious forms found only in India and South America; and
+_Delphinidæ_, comprising the Narwhal, Beluga, or White Whale, Grampus,
+Porpoise, and Dolphins. The total number of British _Cetacea_ has been
+variously estimated; Dr. Gray, in 1864, described thirty, and in 1873
+thirty-three species; while Bell, whom we shall follow, recognised only
+twenty-two species in his second edition, published in 1874.
+
+The following table of the British Cetacea will serve to indicate at a
+glance the precise position assigned to each species, in the two main
+divisions into which the order is divided:--
+
+
+                            BRITISH CETACEA.
+
+ +---------------------------------------------------------------------+
+ |   SUB-ORDER.            FAMILY.        SUB-FAMILY.    GENERA.       |
+ |                                                                     |
+ |                       {Balænidæ       Balæninæ       Balæna         |
+ |     =1.=              {                                             |
+ |MYSTACOCETI            {              {Megapterinæ    Megaptera      |
+ | (=Whalebone-Whales.=) {Balænopteridæ {                              |
+ |                                      {Balænopterinæ  Balænoptera    |
+ |                                                                     |
+ |                                                                     |
+ |                                                                     |
+ |                                      {Physeterinæ    Physeter       |
+ |                       {Physeteridæ   {              {Hyperoodon     |
+ |                       {              {              {               |
+ |                       {              {Ziphiinæ      {Ziphius        |
+ |     =2.=              {                             {Mesoplodon     |
+ |ODONTOCETI             {              { Beluginæ     {Monodon        |
+ | (=Toothed Whales.=)   {              {              {Delphinapterus |
+ |                       {Delphinidæ    {              {Orca           |
+ |                                      {              {Grampus        |
+ |                                      { Delphininæ   {Globicephalus  |
+ |                                                     {Phocœna        |
+ |                                                     {               |
+ |                                                     { Delphinus     |
+ |                                                                     |
+ |                                                                     |
+ +---------------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+ +------------------------------------------------------------------+
+ |   SUB-ORDER.                     SPECIES.                        |
+ |                                                                  |
+ |                       {(?) B. mysticetus, _Right-Whale_          |
+ |     =1.=              {B. biscayensis, _Atlantic Right-Whale_    |
+ |MYSTACOCETI             M. longimana, _Hump-backed Whale_         |
+ | (=Whalebone-Whales.=) {B. musculus, _Common Rorqual_             |
+ |                       {B. sibbaldii, _Sibbald’s_ ”               |
+ |                       {B. laticeps, _Rudolphi’s_ ”               |
+ |                       {B. rostrata, _Lesser_     ”               |
+ |                                                                  |
+ |                        P. macrocephalus, _Sperm Whale_           |
+ |                       {H. rostratum, _Beaked Whale_              |
+ |                       {H. latifrons, _Broad-fronted Beaked Whale_|
+ |                        Z. cavirostris, _Cuvier’s Whale_          |
+ |     =2.=               M. bidens, _Sowerby’s Whale_              |
+ |ODONTOCETI              M. monoceros, _Narwhal_                   |
+ | (=Toothed Whales.=)    D. leucas, _White Whale, or Beluga_       |
+ |                        O. gladiator, _Grampus, or Killer_        |
+ |                        G. griseus, _Risso’s Grampus_             |
+ |                        G. melas, _Pilot Whale_                   |
+ |                        P. communis, _Porpoise_                   |
+ |                       {D. delphis, _Common Dolphin_              |
+ |                       {D. tursio, _Bottle-nosed Dolphin_         |
+ |                       {D. acutus, _White-sided Dolphin_          |
+ |                       {D. albirostris, _White-beaked Dolphin_    |
+ +------------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+
+
+
+MYSTACOCETI (WHALEBONE WHALES.)
+
+
+_BALÆNIDÆ._
+
+
+THE GREENLAND RIGHT-WHALE.
+
+The first species, both in order and importance, of the Family
+_Balænidæ_ is the well-known _Balæna mysticetus_, the GREENLAND, or
+RIGHT-WHALE as it is called by the whalers. So extremely doubtful,
+however, are the claims of this animal to a place in the British Fauna,
+that it is retained in the present treatise solely on account of the
+great interest attaching to it as a species, and not from any idea
+of maintaining for it a position, which, although hitherto assigned
+to it, has now become untenable. The use of the term well-known is
+perhaps unadvised; for, although this species has engaged the energies
+and industry of the merchant seamen of Northern Europe for centuries,
+so little was known of it scientifically, that not a single skeleton
+had ever found its way into any European museum, until Eschricht
+obtained one from Holsteinborg, in Greenland, in 1846. The recorded
+instances of the supposed occurrence of this species in the British
+Seas are unsatisfactory in the extreme. The most positive record is
+that in Messrs. Paget’s ‘Natural History of Great Yarmouth.’ They say:
+“_Balæna mysticetus_--common Whale--a small one taken near Yarmouth,
+July 8, 1784.” Sir James Paget, however, in a letter to the Author,
+is unable to add to the brief statement, as will be seen from the
+following extract from his communication:--“I am sorry I can give you
+no information respecting the Whale taken off Yarmouth in 1784; I
+have no notes as to the source from which I derived the statement, but
+probably it was from some MS. of Mr. Dawson Turner’s. It is not likely
+that any bones of the Whale were kept in Yarmouth, for there was no
+naturalist there at the time, and the whaling-trade, which was then
+actively carried on from the port, must have made Whales’ bones very
+common.” This is all that is ever likely to be learned of the Yarmouth
+Right-whale; but the season at which it occurred would render the
+heated seas on our coast utterly unbearable to an ice-loving inhabitant
+of the Arctic seas. This, with its small size, would seem to point
+to a closely-allied species to be mentioned soon. Sibbald records
+the occurrence of what he considers was probably a Right-whale, at
+Peterhead, in 1682; and a Whale recorded at Tynemouth by Willughby may
+have been of this species. In the first edition of Bell’s ‘Quadrupeds’
+is a communication from the Rev. Mr. Barclay to the effect that on the
+coast of Zetland dead or very lean Whales of this species have several
+times been found or have run aground; but in the second edition of the
+same work the authors state that “there is no proof these references do
+not apply to some other species.” The same may be said with reference
+to Low’s remarks in the ‘Fauna Orcadensis,’ p. 158. This is all we know
+of the supposed occurrence of Right-Whales in British waters in recent
+times, and there is little doubt that these, if Right-Whales at all,
+should be referred to the next species.
+
+The extreme northern habitat assigned to this species by those who
+have devoted much time and labour to the investigation of the subject,
+clearly proves that it must either have changed its habitat, which its
+present habits seem to render improbable, or that some other species
+formerly inhabited the temperate seas outside the Arctic circle
+extending southward to the Atlantic as far as latitude 40°, for it is
+beyond doubt that a brisk whale-fishery was carried on in former times
+by the Basque population in the Bay of Biscay and adjacent seas as far
+back as the 8th or 10th century. That such a southern species, distinct
+from the northern Right-whale did exist, is proved by Professors
+Eschricht and Reinhardt in their splendid memoir of the ‘Greenland
+Whale,’ a translation of which, edited by Professor Flower, was
+published by the ‘Ray Society’ in 1866, and of that species we shall
+give some account further on.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 12. GREENLAND RIGHT-WHALE (_Balæna mysticetus_,
+Linn.)]
+
+It has been asserted that the Greenland Whales supposed formerly to
+have visited our coasts, have been driven north by the increased
+traffic in the more frequented seas of temperate Europe; but from the
+habits of this species as observed on the west coast of Greenland, at
+the fishing stations established by the Danish Government, and recorded
+in the memoir just referred to, no confirmation of this theory is
+afforded. The fishery at these stations was prosecuted from the shore
+when the Whales appeared upon the coast in the winter months; as the
+spring advanced they followed the receding ice-line, and were seen in
+summer as far north in Baffin’s Bay as ships had at that time succeeded
+in penetrating, whilst their southward range in winter was always
+limited by a rather northerly degree of latitude. This, it is shown,
+went on with the greatest regularity for at least 80 years, during
+which the Whales constantly made their appearance at the same places,
+at the same season, without the slightest alteration taking place. The
+fact of the Whales always moving northward as the ice breaks up, will
+account for their being found in the spring in different latitudes;
+thus, on the Greenland coast, they are found, at this season, in
+latitude 65° 25′; but in Davis’ Strait, in 61° to 62°, always, however,
+inseparable from the ice. Messrs. Eschricht and Reinhardt thus
+conclude: “It seems, therefore, that the Whales have not retreated
+further north, as they are still found within precisely the same limits
+in which they were found at the beginning of the persecution, but in
+numbers so diminished that the fishery will hardly repay the trouble
+and expense attending it.”
+
+Capt. Feilden, the naturalist to Sir Geo. Nares’s Arctic expedition,
+speaking of the Northern range of this species, says he is quite
+satisfied that “no Whale could inhabit at the present day the frozen
+sea to the north of Robeson Channel. To penetrate from the North-water
+of Baffin Bay to Robeson Channel, would be a hazardous task for
+this great animal, and in this opinion the experienced whaling
+quartermasters, who accompanied our Expedition, coincided. We may
+dismiss from our minds the idea or hope that nearer to the Pole, and
+beyond the limits of present discovery, there may be haunts in the
+Polar Sea suitable for the Right-whale. I do not look for the speedy
+extinction of the Greenland Whale; but it is probable that in a few
+years the fishing will no longer prove profitable to the fine fleet
+of whalers that now sail from our northern ports, and I see no hope
+of Arctic discovery increasing our knowledge of the range of this
+animal.”[19]
+
+The southern limit of the Right-whale in the Northern ocean may be
+shown by a line drawn from the coast of Lapland at 70°, just touching
+the southern point of Iceland, and ending on the coast of Labrador at
+about 55° north latitude.
+
+The whaling-trade, which once employed so many hardy seamen, is now
+reduced to very narrow limits, and appears to have passed almost
+entirely into the hands of the English, or rather Scotch. The Biscayans
+were not content with exterminating the Whales found in their own seas,
+but in 1721 they had twenty vessels in the Greenland fishery; the Dutch
+also took a large part in the trade; and in the year 1680, when they
+appear to have been the most actively engaged in the fishery, they are
+said to have had about 260 ships and 14,000 men employed. In 1725 the
+South Sea Company embarked in the trade, but meeting with considerable
+losses, speedily gave it up. The Government, in order to encourage this
+languishing branch of industry, in 1732 granted a bounty of 20s. per
+ton on the oil; this, being found insufficient, was increased in 1749
+to 40s. per ton, which caused a considerable increase in the number
+of vessels; but upon Parliament, in 1777, reducing the bounty to 30s.
+per ton, the number of vessels rapidly fell off from 105 to 39; the
+bounty was then, in 1781, raised to its old level, with a corresponding
+increase in the number of vessels employed. Then followed a gradual
+process of reduction, until in the year 1824 the bounty altogether
+ceased, and the ships fell off from 112 in 1824, to 88 in 1827.[20]
+During the nine years ending 1818 there was an average of 91 English
+(sailing from eight ports), and forty-one Scotch ships (sailing from
+nine ports) employed in the trade; in 1830 they were reduced to 41
+English vessels (sailing from five ports), to which Hull contributed
+33, and 50 Scotch vessels (sailing from seven ports), to which
+Peterhead contributed 13, and Dundee 9.
+
+The years 1819 and 1830 were both very disastrous to the whale-trade;
+in the former year fourteen British vessels were lost, and in the
+latter, nineteen British ships were totally wrecked, and twelve
+seriously injured. The number of ships employed has since gradually
+decreased, and at present Dundee and Peterhead are the only two ports
+in Great Britain engaged in the whale-fishery. Dundee sends out fifteen
+powerful steam-vessels, which leave about the beginning of May, and
+if fortunate in filling up, return, according to circumstances, from
+August to the beginning of November. Peterhead sends five steamers and
+one sailing vessel; they are ship-rigged, and from two to five hundred
+tons register, and 40 to 100 horse power. The expense now incurred
+renders it necessary that a large number of Whales should be taken to
+make the voyage pay: the _Arctic_, in her voyage of 1873, captured
+twenty-eight Whales, which were estimated to produce in oil and bone
+£18,925, or about £678 per Whale, the best Whale, a female with sucker,
+was estimated at £1,500, and the smallest at only £110. An average
+Whale produces 9½ tons of oil, a ton measuring 252 gallons, and 7 ft.
+6 in. of whalebone; the longest bone cut of the twenty-eight fish was
+11 ft. 9 in. and the shortest 2 ft. 6 in. This was considered a very
+successful year. The whale-fishery was commenced at Peterhead in 1788;
+since that time, up to the year 1879, Captain David Gray informs me
+that 995 voyages have been made to the Greenland and Davis’ Straits
+whale and seal-fisheries, and there have been brought home 4195 Whales,
+furnishing 30,975 tons of oil, and 1549 tons of whalebone, besides
+1,673,052 Seals, yielding 20,913 tons of oil, leaving a nett profit
+of £583,020, or £586 per ship per voyage. The Dundee whale-fishery
+commenced in 1790, and the seal-fishery in 1860; since that time up to
+the season of 1879, 538 voyages have been made to the Greenland and
+Davis’ Straits whale and seal-fisheries, including Labrador, which have
+produced 4220 Whales, yielding 32,774 tons of oil and 1640 tons of
+whalebone, besides 917,278 Seals, yielding 10,464 tons of oil, valued
+together at £2,160,400, leaving a nett profit of £652,320, or £1212
+10s. per ship per voyage. Capt. Gray adds: “I have often been asked
+where all the Whales are gone to; let the above figures be the reply.”
+
+The present price of whale-oil is from £28 to £30 per ton, the
+whalebone ranging as high as £1100 per ton, according to the length of
+the bone; but although there are exceptions, of late years the fishery,
+as a whole, is said, on good authority, not to have paid the heavy
+expenses of the fleet engaged in it, nor does there seem much prospect
+of improvement, mineral oil being now used for many purposes for which
+formerly whale and seal oil was required. One of the chief uses to
+which whale and seal oil are now applied is in the preparation of the
+jute fibre, the manufacture of which is so extensively carried on at
+the port of Dundee, also the chief centre of the whaling-trade.
+
+An interesting account of a whaling voyage in the ship _Arctic_,
+and full particulars of the mode pursued in taking, and subsequent
+treatment of the fish, is given by Captain A. H. Markham, in his
+‘Whaling Cruise to Baffin’s Bay.’[21]
+
+The usual length of a full-grown Right-whale is about 50 feet; but Dr.
+Brown, in his paper on the Cetaceans of the Greenland Seas (_P. Z. S._,
+1868, p. 539), gives the dimensions of one which measured 65 feet. The
+general colour is black. The mouth occupies about one-third of the
+entire length, and the baleen is from 10 to 12 feet long; it has been
+known to reach the great length of 13 ft. 2 in., and 9 in. in width.
+This baleen, which is found depending from the upper jaw, consists
+of a number of horny plates, similar in structure to the horn of the
+rhinoceros, consisting of a fibrous mass glutinated together in the
+solid portion, and placed transversely along either side of the palate;
+they are arranged closely together, with the external edge smooth,
+and gradually thinning off towards the inner margin, which ends in a
+fringe of long hair-like fibres: the number of laminæ is about 300 on
+each side.[22] Captain David Gray, of the _Eclipse_, an experienced
+whaler, in a communication to ‘Land and Water,’ on December 1, 1877,
+pointed out and first satisfactorily explained the means by which these
+extraordinary appendages are disposed of when the mouth of the Whale
+is closed. He shows that when the mouth is shut, the slender ends of
+the whalebone curve backwards towards the throat, the longer ones from
+the middle of the jaw falling into the hollow formed by the shortness
+of those behind them; when the animal opens its mouth to feed, the
+whalebone springs forward and downwards, thus always by its elasticity,
+filling up the space between the upper and lower jaws, whether the
+mouth be fully or only partially open, and interposing a strainer
+between the cavity of the mouth and the external water, effectually
+preventing the food which enters the mouth from passing out with the
+flow of water which passes through the mouth as the great beast pursues
+and captures its minute food.
+
+The Whale whilst feeding swims along with its mouth open, until it
+has collected a quantity of the small marine animals which form its
+food; then, closing its capacious under jaw, it forces out the water
+between the plates of baleen, leaving the captive prey stranded on
+its huge tongue, when it swallows them at leisure. The food of the
+Greenland Whale consists entirely of small marine animals, particularly
+a kind of shrimp, found in great abundance in the Arctic seas. This
+species seldom remains under water longer than from ten to fifteen
+minutes, returning to the surface to breathe, which, if undisturbed,
+occupies from two to three minutes. Capt. Gray, however, has known
+it when harpooned to stay under water fifty minutes. Professor Owen
+describes the wonderful provision for storing of blood in a vast plexus
+of blood-vessels found in the Cetacea, at the back of the lungs and
+between them and the ribs, thus enabling them, although lung-breathing
+animals, to stay under water for so protracted a period, and states
+that the peculiar non-valvular structure of the veins of the Cetacea,
+and the pressure on these reservoirs of blood at the depths to which
+they retreat when harpooned, explain the profuse and lethal hæmorrhage
+which follows a wound, that in other mammalia would not be fatal.[23]
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 13. ATLANTIC RIGHT-WHALE (_Balæna biscayensis_,
+Eschricht), after Capellini.]
+
+The Right-Whale is believed by Eschricht and Reinhardt to bring forth
+its single young one (rarely two) about the end of March or beginning
+of May, and the time of gestation to be thirteen or fourteen months,
+so that it will bring forth only every other year; Scoresby considers
+that they go eight or nine months, and bring forth in February or
+March.[24] The young one is supposed to be suckled for twelve months,
+during which time the baleen is gradually developed. In disposition,
+the Greenland Whale is timid and retiring; the chief danger in its
+capture arises from its rapid descent when harpooned; the line is then
+carried out with such speed that, should it foul or all run out and
+not be immediately cut, the boat will be upset or carried under water.
+Capt. David Gray estimates the speed of a struck or scared Whale at
+about eight miles an hour, and the ordinary speed at about four miles,
+whether sounding or along the surface. It has never been known to
+attack a boat, but accidents sometimes happen if approached too closely
+in its death “flurry,” which is said to be very terrible to witness.
+Its fondness for its young is such that if the “sucker” be killed the
+old one readily falls a victim, and the whalers do not fail to avail
+themselves, for their own advantage, of this amiable trait in its
+character.
+
+
+THE ATLANTIC RIGHT-WHALE.
+
+Until recently it was believed that a Whale formerly common in
+the temperate waters of the North Atlantic was identical with the
+Right-Whale of the Arctic seas, of which we have just given an account,
+but Professors Eschricht and Reinhardt have successfully shown, as
+stated in the previous article, that such is not the case, the habits
+of the two animals, as well as the localities frequented by each, being
+totally distinct. They have, therefore, described the more southern
+form as a distinct species, under the name of _Balæna biscayensis_, or
+the ATLANTIC RIGHT-WHALE, the “Sarde” of the French, “Nordkaper” of the
+Dutch, and “Sletbag” of the Iceland whalers of former days.
+
+As early as the twelfth century, long before the whale-fishery was
+prosecuted in the Arctic seas, a brisk trade was carried on by the
+Basque fishermen from the Biscayan ports. That this fishery must have
+been of considerable importance, in a mercantile point of view, there
+can be no doubt, from the numerous references to be met with in early
+records; for instance, in 1261, a tithe was laid upon the tongues of
+all Whales imported into Bayonne, where they formed a much-esteemed
+article of food, and in 1338 a duty of £6 a Whale on those brought
+into the port of Biarritz was relinquished by Edward III. to Peter de
+Puyanne for services rendered; these and other like records extant show
+that for a long period this branch of industry was briskly prosecuted.
+Gradually, however, the Whales became more and more scarce, and the
+hardy Basque seamen, after following their prey to Newfoundland and
+Iceland, shortly after the discovery of Spitsbergen in 1596 found their
+all-but-lost occupation suddenly revive; the “Sletbag” was left behind,
+but the home of the true Greenland Whale, a much more valuable animal,
+was for the first time invaded, and that species, which then abounded
+in the seas surrounding Spitzbergen, speedily became the object of the
+whalers’ attack; many vessels were fitted out for its pursuit which
+carried Biscayan harpooners, the crews, also, generally consisting, in
+part, of these hardy seamen.
+
+So recently as the close of the last century, the Atlantic Right-whale
+was not infrequent in the North Atlantic; it was regularly caught on
+the coast of Nantucket, and occasionally by the American Whalers on the
+coast of Iceland; it has, however, now become very rare. Professors
+Eschricht and Reinhardt thus summarise the distinctive characters of
+the “Sletbag,” “Sarde,” or “Nordkaper,” so far as they have been able
+to glean from all the sources accessible to them, and consider the
+species identical with their _B. biscayensis_:--
+
+  1. “That it was much more active than the Greenland Whale, much
+  quicker, and more violent in its movements, and, accordingly, both
+  more difficult and more dangerous to catch.”
+
+  2. “That it was smaller (it being, however, impossible to give an
+  exact statement of its length), and had much less blubber.”
+
+  3. “That its head was shorter, and that its whalebone was,
+  comparatively speaking, much thicker, but scarcely more than half
+  as long as that of the Greenland Whale, being, however, still much
+  longer than that of even the very largest Fin-Whale, although the
+  ‘Sletbag’ itself probably scarcely attained to half the length of the
+  last-named.”
+
+  4. “That it was regularly infested with a Cirriped belonging to the
+  genus _Coronula_, and that it belonged to the temperate Northern
+  Atlantic as exclusively as the Greenland Whale belonged to the icy
+  Polar Sea, so that it must be considered as equally exceptional when
+  either of these species strayed into the range of the other, and,
+  moreover, that in its native sea it was to be found farthest towards
+  south in the winter (namely, in the Bay of Biscay, and near the coast
+  of North America, down to Cape Cod), while in the summer it roved
+  about in the sea round Iceland and between this Island and the most
+  northerly part of Norway.”[25]
+
+In addition to the British Right-Whales mentioned at the commencement
+of the previous article, which may almost with certainty be referred
+to this species, I am enabled, through the kindness of my friend,
+Captain David Gray, of Peterhead, to record two other instances of the
+occurrence of the Atlantic Right-Whale in British waters. With regard
+to the first case, Captain Gray was good enough to obtain for me the
+independent testimony of two old men, James Webster and John Allan,
+both of whom are still living at Peterhead, and were witnesses of the
+events which they relate. The two statements coincide so remarkably,
+making allowance for the lapse of so many years, that it is only
+necessary to give one. James Webster, 85 years of age, remembers
+Greenland Whales coming into South Bay of Peterhead: at that time he
+would have been about 10 years of age [Jno. Allan says “it was in 1806
+or 1807, same year as the new parish church was opened;” this was in
+1806, and agrees with Webster’s statement that he was 10 years old at
+the time]. Remembers them being an old Whale and a sucker. Saw five
+boats go out after them; as far as he recollects, thinks it was the
+month of October [“in the summer-time,” Allan]. They struck the old
+Whale, and put three harpoons into her, then they struck the sucker
+and killed it; brought the sucker ashore and flenched it at the South
+Quay. [Allan says “they killed the young Whale, and flenched her at the
+South Quay: she, having sunk, it was two or three days after, before
+they got her in.”] After they had three harpoons in the old Whale, she
+went twice up into the head of the Bay, going so far that she turned
+the sand up, and then she stove two of the boats, and broke Mackie’s,
+one of the harpooners, legs. [Allan does not remember the name of the
+injured man, and thinks only one boat was stove.] After this, the Whale
+took a run, and went out of the Bay, blowing blood. They followed her
+as fast as they could, they cut two of the boats from her, and left her
+towing one boat with their Jack blowing, after taking the crew out of
+her, and in this condition the Whale went out of sight, and they never
+saw or heard of her again. Allan says that when she went round the
+South Head, a heavy sea being on at the time, and darkness coming on,
+the boats cut and let her go, leaving the boat which was stove, fast
+to the Whale, the flag still blowing, and that she went out to sea and
+was never seen again. Capt. Gray adds that “Capt. Wm. Volum, of the
+‘Enterprise,’ and Capt. Alex. Geary, of the ‘Hope,’ both took part in
+the chase, and in that year the ‘Hope’ returned from Greenland on 30th
+June, and the ‘Enterprise’ on 30th July; consequently, it must have
+been some time after the latter date that the Whales came into the
+Bay; probably Webster is right when he names October.”
+
+The second instance referred to by Captain Gray came under his own
+observation. Whilst taking a walk round the “Heads,” one Sunday morning
+before church, to the best of his recollection early in October, 1872,
+“I saw,” says Captain Gray, “a Greenland Whale within half a mile of
+the rocks off the South Head; its appearance and movements were exactly
+the same as those I have seen in Spitsbergen waters.” Accustomed, as
+Captain Gray has been for many years, to watch the appearance and
+actions of the northern species of Right-Whale, in the Polar seas, it
+seems impossible for a man of his great experience to have mistaken any
+other species of Whale for one of the _Balæninæ_.
+
+Of course, there still remains the question as to whether these Whales
+were the Greenland or Atlantic species, but I think the consideration
+of the circumstances under which they occurred, leaves no doubt what
+the reply must be. Captain Gray writes--“Until you began to question
+the identity of these Whales harpooned here in 1806, no one had ever
+had the smallest doubt of their being Greenland Whales,” and that had
+there been any marked difference in their appearance, it would have
+been at once noticed by such experienced men as those who captured
+the Whale at Peterhead; but he adds that “so far as the habits of
+the Greenland Whale are known, it is contrary to our experience that
+they should visit our shores at the season of the year at which these
+Whales were seen here, when we know that the Arctic Whale regularly
+disappears into the depths of the Polar ice towards the end of summer,
+where no ships or steamers can follow them.” It would naturally be
+expected that, towards the end of summer the Atlantic Whale would also
+be approaching the northern limit of its range, and this is precisely
+the season when all the Whales of this description, of which the date
+is given, appear to have occurred, except two in a much more southerly
+locality, (their proper winter habitat) shortly to be mentioned. That
+the Peterhead men did not speak of any marked difference in the Whale
+which visited their Bay and those they had just returned from pursuing
+in the Polar ice may perhaps be accounted for partly by the similarity
+of the two species, and partly by their not having killed the adult
+individual; whilst the restless activity of the latter may possibly be
+due, not only to the presence of its young one, but, in part, to the
+superior activity of the Atlantic species, which is said to render it
+so much more dangerous and difficult to catch.
+
+But it may be said that if there be such a species, having a range,
+which in summer extends from the entrance of Davis’ Strait to Iceland
+and the North Cape, why are they not occasionally met with by the
+whalers in crossing the Atlantic to and from their more northern
+fishing grounds? Although such an encounter with a creature confessedly
+of rare occurrence would be in the highest degree improbable, still
+here again, through the kindness of Capt. Gray I am able to say that
+such encounters have taken place, and could we know the experience of
+all the whalers who have crossed the Atlantic, perhaps other instances
+might be put on record. Captain David Gray’s father told him that while
+mate to his father (Capt. David Gray’s grandfather), when crossing the
+Atlantic on the homeward voyage from Davis’ Strait, the vessel ran into
+a Greenland Whale (as he supposed it) and that he was anxious to lower
+some boats and go after it, but that his father would not allow him to
+do so, there being too much sea running at that time. This again would
+be in the summer season. It seems probable that not being aware of the
+existence of a Southern species of Right-Whale, or in consequence of
+the high sea which was running at the time, the Grays did not observe,
+or, at least, failed to mention, the peculiarities which distinguish
+the Atlantic species. But I am indebted to Capt. Gray for other
+instances of the occurrence of this species not far from Cape Farewell,
+and in at least one case the species was identified, the observer being
+aware of the existence of the Atlantic Whale, and the circumstances
+apparently favourable for close observation. On the 1st May, 1868,
+Capt. Alexander Murray, now commanding the S.S. “Windward,” at that
+time trading to South Greenland, in the “Sir Colin Campbell,” saw near
+Cape Farewell, several Right-Whales, close enough to distinguish their
+different features and general appearance. Capt. Murray remarks that,
+“they are a shorter Whale than the Greenland and much flatter in the
+crown;” he also noticed “Barnacles and grass near the blow-holes,” and
+states that from conversations he has had with American shipmasters
+employed in hunting these Whales, that these parasites are always
+present in this species, whereas the Greenland Whales are as invariably
+free from them. Capt. Murray adds that in 1867 three American whalers
+came into Cumberland Gulf, one having six, one three, and the other
+two Atlantic Whales on board, all of which were taken in the summer,
+a little to the eastward of Cape Farewell; and, finally, Capt. Gray’s
+brother, who commands the Hudson Bay Company’s Steamer, “Labrador,”
+told him that in June, 1879, he saw two of these Whales in lat. 57 N.
+and long. 33 W.; they were close alongside, and the weather at the time
+calm: they went away in a south-westerly direction. It would seem,
+indeed, that this species is not at all an infrequent summer visitor to
+the open sea, lying to the east of Cape Farewell.
+
+Two recent instances of the occurrence of this species on the eastern
+side of the Atlantic are on record, both of which were met with in
+winter, and in the warmer latitudes of the Bay of Biscay and the
+Mediterranean Sea. On the 17th of January, 1854, a young one with its
+mother appeared in the harbour of St. Sebastian; the mother escaped,
+but the little one was caught, and a drawing of it made by Dr. Monedero
+(reproduced in Bell’s ‘Brit. Quad.,’ 2nd Edit. p. 387); the skeleton
+was preserved for the museum of Pampeluna, thence it was removed
+by Prof. Eschricht in 1858 to the Copenhagen Museum, for which he
+purchased it. Also, on the 9th February, 1877, a Whale was captured
+in the Gulf of Taranto, which has been referred to this species, and
+these, I believe, are the only specimens which have been taken in
+European waters of late years; it seems very probable, however, that
+the “Black-Whale” of the temperate shores of N. America (the _B.
+cisarctica_ of Cope) is identical with _B. biscayensis_, and that,
+although extinct on the eastern side of the Atlantic, individuals from
+the American waters occasionally find their way into the European
+seas, where the race formerly existed as a native. The skeleton of
+the Taranto specimen is now in the Museum of Comparative Anatomy of
+the University of Naples, and M. F. Gasco states positively that
+“both the Taranto Whale and that of Philadelphia (_B. cisarctica_,
+Cope) belong to the species _B. biscayensis_, of Eschricht, which,
+for several centuries was pursued with avidity--I was going to say
+exterminated--throughout the temperate regions of the North Atlantic,
+first by the Basques, and then successively by the Saintongeois, the
+Normans, the Dutch (who called it _Nordkaper_), the Danes, Norwegians,
+English, and Americans.”[26] The cervical vertebræ in the British
+Museum, which form the type of Gray’s _Halibalæna britannica_ are also
+believed to belong to this species.
+
+Dr. Gray did not recognize _Balæna biscayensis_ as a good species,
+and accounted for the absence of the Right-Whales, formerly found in
+British waters, from the disturbed state of the seas, owing to the
+great increase in traffic of ships, and especially steam-vessels,
+which, he said, “appears to restrict their visits, and especially
+their breeding, more to the Arctic portion; thus some Whales, which
+were formerly said to be common on the coast of Britain, as the
+Right-Whales, no longer visit this country.” Eschricht, however, as
+before stated, has clearly shown that the habits of the northern
+Right-Whale and localities frequented by them have remained unchanged
+for many years, as proved by the record kept at the whaling-stations
+established by the Danish government on the west coast of Greenland.
+
+It is worthy of remark, that in the Southern ocean there are said to be
+two species of Right-Whale, one _Caperea antipodorum_ (Gray), not found
+further north than 40° south latitude; the other, _Eubalæna australis_
+(Gray), found as near the equator as 20° south latitude.
+
+The illustration at p. 60 is a reduced copy of the coloured plate
+in Capellini’s account of the Taranto Whale (_‘Della Balena di
+Taranto,’ G. Capellini, Bologna_, 1877), the original of which was a
+carefully-executed water-colour drawing, made from the animal itself.
+
+
+_BALÆNOPTERIDÆ._
+
+
+THE HUMP-BACKED WHALE.
+
+The next family, _Balænopteridæ_, is represented by two genera,
+_Megaptera_ and _Balænoptera_. Like the Right-whales, they all have two
+blow-holes, but may readily be distinguished by having the throat and
+belly curiously marked with longitudinal furrows, like the ribs in a
+worsted stocking: they also possess a well-defined dorsal fin.
+
+The HUMP-BACKED WHALE, _Megaptera longimana_ (Rudolphi), the only
+member of the first genus known to occur in the British seas, has
+been recorded at least three times; first at Newcastle in September,
+1839, again in the estuary of the Dee, in 1863, and in Wick Bay,
+Caithnesshire, in March, 1871. Capt. Gray tells me they are not
+uncommon off the east coast of Scotland in summer, and that he has
+known several captured off Peterhead, three having been brought in
+in one season. It is possible other examples may have been mistaken
+for Rorquals, from which this species may at once be distinguished
+externally by the great length of its flippers, which are white and
+very conspicuous.
+
+Herr Collett says that this species is met with every spring, on the
+northern coast of Norway, particularly in the Varanger Fjord; although
+generally occurring in small numbers, it is occasionally found in great
+quantities. On one occasion a steam vessel was surrounded by them
+as far as the eye could see, and great care had to be used to avoid
+running against them. South of the polar circle, he says it only occurs
+in small numbers.[27] In August, 1880, Capt. Gray saw vast numbers
+of these Whales about one hundred miles N.E. of Iceland; the sea, he
+states, seemed to be quite full of them as far as he could see from the
+mast-head. They were accompanied by a small species of “Finner,” with a
+white band across the fin (_B. rostrata_).
+
+The total length of the animal is about 45 to 50 feet, its baleen is
+black, and the flippers, which are white and notched at the edge, from
+10 to 14 feet in length.
+
+
+THE COMMON RORQUAL.
+
+To the genus _Balænoptera_ belong the Rorquals or Fin-whales, the
+first species of which is the COMMON RORQUAL, _Balænoptera musculus_
+(Linn.), the _Balænoptera boops_ of Bell’s first edition, and _Physalus
+antiquorum_ of Gray. This is a much more active animal than the
+Right-whale; it is difficult of approach, and, upon being harpooned,
+such is the velocity with which it shoots through the water that the
+danger is very great; Scoresby mentions one which took out 480 fathoms
+of line in about one minute. In addition to this, the whalebone is
+short and of little value, and the yield of oil small; it is therefore
+avoided by the whalers, as more dangerous than profitable, and if
+struck at all, it is most likely a case of mistaken identity. From
+the port of Vadsö, however, the capture of this, and the species
+immediately preceding and following, is now successfully effected by
+means of an explosive shell or harpoon, which kills them at once. This
+fishery was established about the year 1865, by Herr Svend Foyn, from
+Tonsberg, and is still very successfully prosecuted, as many as 50
+Whales being obtained each summer; they are towed into Vadsö, where the
+blubber is refined and the carcase made into manure.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 14. COMMON RORQUAL (_Balænoptera musculus_, Linn.)]
+
+The habitat of the Common Rorqual is the temperate Northern seas,
+from the Mediterranean, which it sometimes enters, to the 70° north
+latitude, and sometimes even farther north still. Nordenskiöld, in the
+‘Œolus,’ last saw Finners on the 18th May, 1861, in lat. 75° 45′, the
+temperature of the water being between 2·50° and 3·8° C., and they were
+not again seen until the return of the expedition in September, in 78°
+north latitude, the temperature of the water being then about 3·8° C.
+He remarks, “It is probable that ‘Finners’ never live in colder water
+than this, and that the northern limit of their distribution coincides
+with sea of this temperature. It has to be kept in view, however, that
+this boundary line lies several degrees further to the north in summer
+than in winter.”[28]
+
+The range of this group is very great, and, according to Andrew
+Murray, it would appear that one or more of the Balænopteridæ is
+found over the whole world, although it is by no means certain that
+any particular species has a very wide geographical range. _Megaptera
+longimana_, which occurs in the North Sea, was also supposed to have
+been met with at the Cape, but Dr. Gray has pointed out differences
+in the cervical vertebræ of an individual from that locality, which
+he considers constitute distinct specific characters; on the other
+hand, a Fin-whale from Java so closely resembles our _Balænoptera
+laticeps_ that Professor Flower, after the most careful examination and
+comparison almost bone by bone, hesitates to pronounce it distinct,
+and only separates it provisionally. In our own seas this species is
+of frequent occurrence, more especially on the Scotch coast, where
+it appears in the early autumn, attracted by the shoals of herring
+which abound there at that season. In feeding, the Rorquals are not
+so restricted to minute marine animals as the Right-Whale, but devour
+large quantities of fish of various sizes, from herrings up to cod. In
+the stomach of the Newcastle Humpbacked Whale (the species mentioned
+immediately before the present one) were found six cormorants, but a
+seventh, found in its throat, was supposed to have caused its death by
+choking it. The blowing is accompanied by a loud noise, which, on a
+still night, may be heard at a considerable distance. It was formerly
+supposed that in “blowing” the Whale ejected from its nostrils a very
+considerable quantity of water, which might be seen to spout up into
+the air like a fountain; and in the performance of this remarkable feat
+they were generally depicted. Beale, however, in his ‘Natural History
+of the Sperm Whale,’ as early as 1838, showed that this is not the
+case, and the truth of his observations is now generally acknowledged.
+The power so to eject water taken into its capacious mouth is, of
+course, impossible, the blow-hole being in direct communication with
+the lungs, and not with the cavity of the mouth, nor would it be of
+any service to the Whalebone-Whales, as the very purpose of the baleen
+is to form a screening apparatus through which the water is ejected,
+leaving its minute prey behind; and in the toothed Whales it would not
+be required. What appears like a jet of water is, in reality, dense
+vapour--in fact, the breath issuing from the lungs of the animal,
+highly charged with moisture, which becomes condensed upon exposure
+to the atmosphere. It often happens, too, that the Whale lets off the
+imprisoned air just before the blow-hole reaches the surface of the
+water, or that a wave passes over it at the moment of respiration,
+the water is thus dashed aside by the blast, and, probably, some of it
+really carried up into the air, thus heightening the deceptive effect.
+
+This species, when adult, reaches the length of about 70 feet, the
+upper part is black, the throat and belly white and plaited, the
+flippers black. The baleen is short and slate colour, veined with
+streaks of darker shade, but growing lighter towards the inner edge.
+
+Dead Whales, when stranded on the shore, after floating long at sea,
+are generally greatly distended with gas, which generates rapidly
+in the tissues after decomposition has set in; in such an inflated
+condition only a very imperfect conception can be formed of the true
+proportions of the vast beast. There is frequently, also, a great
+protrusion of membrane from the mouth, arising from the same cause, and
+other appearances in the male animal, due to the pressure of gas in the
+abdominal cavity are generally faithfully portrayed in old books of
+Natural History.
+
+A Whale of this species, taken off the North coast of Scotland, in
+April, 1880, was purchased by an enterprising individual in Birmingham,
+to which town it was conveyed by rail, and there exhibited: probably,
+this was the greatest distance from the sea at which an entire
+Cetacean, 63 feet in length, had ever been seen.
+
+The figure of this species is copied, by kind permission of Professor
+Flower, from the illustration to his paper in the ‘Proceedings of the
+Zoological Society of London’ for 1869, p. 604, _et. seq._
+
+
+SIBBALD’S RORQUAL.
+
+SIBBALD’S RORQUAL (_Balænoptera sibbaldii_, J. E. Gray; also
+_Sibbaldius borealis_, Gray, and _Physalus latirostris_, Flower), has
+several times been met with in British waters, particularly on the
+east coast of Scotland. It is the largest of this gigantic family,
+measuring from 80 to perhaps 100 feet in length. One seen by Herr Foyn
+he estimated at the enormous length of 133 English feet! The famous
+“Ostend Whale,” which was found floating dead in the North Sea, in
+1827, and taken into Ostend, belonged to this species; its skeleton
+was long exhibited in this country, and afterwards in America. Dr.
+Gray says it is now in St. Petersburg, and gives the total length
+as 102 feet; as, however, several of the vertebræ are missing, the
+exact length is uncertain. Professor Turner gives the length of a
+specimen stranded in the Firth of Forth as 78 feet 9 inches, and the
+girth behind the flippers about 45 feet: this animal was gravid, but
+notwithstanding this fact, the bulk must have been enormous.
+
+Herr Rt. Collett, in his ‘Norges Pattedyrfauna,’ gives a very full
+account of this species, as observed by him on the Norwegian coast.
+In June, 1874, he had the opportunity of visiting Herr Svend Foyn’s
+establishment for whale-catching, at Vadsö, and in addition to being
+enabled to examine three individuals of this species in a fresh state,
+received much information as to their habits from Herr Foyn and the men
+engaged in the fishery. This Whale, from its colour, is known by the
+fishers as the “Blue Whale,” and appears to have its home in winter
+in the open seas, between the North Cape and Spitsbergen. By the end
+of April or beginning of May it approaches the coast, entering the
+larger Fjords towards the end of the latter month, to feast upon the
+enormous quantities of _Thysanopoda inermis_, then found there; it is
+also seen in summer along the coast from Loffoden to the North Cape,
+and further to the eastward. When the wind is on the land or in any
+stormy weather, it seeks the open sea. Varanger Fjord is the favourite
+hunting-ground for this species, and in the last few years the average
+number taken there has been thirty; in 1874, as many as 42 were taken:
+it leaves the Fjord, however, should stormy weather set in. No specimen
+examined by Herr Collett, or Professor Sars, had taken any other food
+than _Thysanopoda inermis_, and Herr Foyn and his catchers are all of
+opinion that they do not eat fish. To obtain the little Crustacean on
+which they feed and which is found congregated in separate masses,
+the Whale passes backwards and forwards with its mouth open, till
+the cavity is well filled, it then closes its capacious jaws upon
+the contents. Herr Collett found two or three barrels of these small
+crustaceans in the stomach of a Blue Whale which he examined, and was
+told that a large one would consume as much as ten barrels.
+
+The female appears, as a rule, to be longer than the male; the young
+are born about the autumn, one appears to be the usual number, but two
+young ones have more than once been seen with the same old female.
+
+This species may be known by its low dorsal fin, black baleen, and long
+flippers, which are black above and whitish below: this should be borne
+in mind, as it is not at all improbable that some, at least, of the
+enormous cetaceans which are occasionally reported from the North of
+Scotland, belong to this species; so very unsatisfactory, however, are
+the reports which appear in print, that it is rarely a single feature
+is mentioned by which the species may be determined.
+
+
+RUDOLPHI’S RORQUAL.
+
+RUDOLPHI’S RORQUAL (_Balænoptera laticeps_, J. E. Gray) is a small
+species which may readily be mistaken for the Lesser Rorqual. A Whale
+stranded at Charmouth in February, 1840, and described by Mr. Yarrell,
+under the name of _Balænoptera boops_, in the proceedings of the
+Zoological Society for that year, is believed to have been of this
+species, but the skeleton, although prepared at the time, is supposed
+to have been sold and converted into manure. The same individual is
+recorded under the name of _B. tenuirostris_, in the Mag. of Nat.
+History, iv., 1840, p. 342, by Mr. R. H. Sweeting. Very little is known
+about the history or distribution of this species; the flippers are
+entirely black above, wanting the white band found in the next species,
+and the baleen is believed to be black.
+
+
+LESSER RORQUAL.
+
+The next and last of the Whalebone-Whales which we know to have
+occurred in the British Seas is the LESSER RORQUAL (_Balænoptera
+rostrata_, Fab.; _Rorqualus minor_, Knox), (Fig. 15). Many individuals
+of this species have been obtained on various parts of the coast,
+from Cornwall to the North of Scotland. On the coast of Norway it is
+frequently met with, and is there called the “Bay-Whale,” from its
+habit of entering bays and estuaries; this habit the natives take
+advantage of for its destruction. Stretching a strong net across the
+inlet, they cut off its escape, and put a cruel and often protracted
+end to its existence with harpoons and arrows, the poor Whale sometimes
+lingering from eight to fourteen days. This species is also known as
+the “Summer-Whale,” and does not appear to be so strictly a northern
+species as the Balænopteridæ generally are: it is believed, like the
+Common Rorqual, to have been taken in the Mediterranean. A Whale of
+this species, taken at Mevagissey, in Cornwall, at the end of April,
+1880, was conveyed to London, and there exhibited in the Old Kent Road.
+
+The Lesser Rorqual, from its small size (not exceeding 30 feet), is
+not liable to be mistaken for any other species except the preceding
+(Rudolphi’s Rorqual), and from that it may be distinguished by the
+broad white band across its black flipper; the baleen also is nearly
+white, which is another good distinction. The figure of this species
+is copied from the illustration to an article by Messrs. Carte
+and Macalister, on the Anatomy of _Balænoptera rostrata_, in the
+‘Philosophical Transactions’ of the Royal Society for 1868, vol. clviii.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 15. LESSER RORQUAL (_Balænoptera rostrata_, Fab.)]
+
+In the table on the next page I have endeavoured to give the most
+striking external peculiarities of our British _Mystacoceti_. They are
+easily remembered, and will be useful in identifying specimens, should
+no authority be at hand. The table also indicates the external points
+to be observed by a person not acquainted with this class of animals,
+and is most serviceable to enable others to identify doubtful specimens.
+
+
+     TABLE OF DIFFERENCES OF BRITISH MYSTACOCETI (WHALEBONE WHALES).
+
+ +------------------------+---------------+---------+-----------------+
+ |                        |    COLOUR.    |         |                 |
+ |      SPECIES.          + ------+-------+Belly and|    Flippers.    |
+ |                        | Upper | Under | Throat. |                 |
+ |                        | Part. | Part. |         |                 |
+ +------------------------+-------+-------+---------+-----------------+
+ |  _Balæna mysticetus_,  | Dark  | Throat| Smooth  |      Black      |
+ |Greenland Right-Whale   | grey  | white |         |                 |
+ |                        |       |       |         |                 |
+ |                        |       |       |         |                 |
+ |                        |       |       |         |                 |
+ |  _Balæna biscayensis_, |Uniform|Uniform| Smooth  |      Black      |
+ | Atlantic Right-Whale   | black | black |         |                 |
+ |                        |       |       |         |                 |
+ |                        |       |       |         |                 |
+ | _Megaptera longimana_, |Black  | Black | Plaited |    Wholly white,|
+ |  Humpbacked Whale      |       |  and  | (plicæ) |about 12 ft. long|
+ |                        |       | white |         |and notched at   |
+ |                        |       |       |         |the edge         |
+ |                        |       |       |         |                 |
+ |_Balænoptera musculus_, |Black  | White | Plaited |      Black      |
+ |   Common Rorqual       |       |       |         |                 |
+ |                        |       |       |         |                 |
+ |                        |       |       |         |                 |
+ |                        |       |       |         |                 |
+ |                        |       |       |         |                 |
+ |                        |       |       |         |                 |
+ |_Balænoptera sibbaldii_,|Black  | Slate | Plaited |Dark      above, |
+ |  Sibbald’s Rorqual     |       | grey  |         |  White beneath, |
+ |                        |       |       |         |  12 feet or more|
+ |                        |       |       |         |  long           |
+ |                        |       |       |         |                 |
+ |_Balænoptera laticeps_, |Black  | White | Plaited |    Upper part   |
+ |  Rudolphi’s Rorqual    |       |       |         |      black      |
+ |                        |       |       |         |                 |
+ |_Balænoptera rostrata_, |Black  | White | Plaited |Black,     with  |
+ |   Lesser Rorqual       |       |       |         |  broad band of  |
+ |                        |       |       |         |  white across   |
+ +------------------------+-------+-------+---------+-----------------+
+
+ +---------------------------------------------------------------------+
+ |                        |        |       BALEEN.         |           |
+ |      SPECIES.          | Dorsal |----------+------------+   Total   |
+ |                        |  Fin.  | Length.  |  Colour.   |  Length.  |
+ |                        |        |          |            |           |
+ +------------------------+--------+ ---------+------------+-----------+
+ |  _Balæna mysticetus_,  | None   |Long and  |  Blackish  | 50 or 60  |
+ |Greenland Right-Whale   |        |  narrow; |    grey    |   feet    |
+ |                        |        |  10 or 12|            |           |
+ |                        |        | feet     |            |           |
+ |                        |        |          |            |           |
+ |  _Balæna biscayensis_, |  None  |Shorter   |     ...    |40 feet (?)|
+ | Atlantic Right-Whale   |        |  than the|            |           |
+ |                        |        |  above   |            |           |
+ |                        |        |          |            |           |
+ | _Megaptera longimana_, |Very low|  Short   |   Black    |About      |
+ |  Humpbacked Whale      |        |          |            |  50 feet  |
+ |                        |        |          |            |           |
+ |                        |        |          |            |           |
+ |                        |        |          |            |           |
+ |_Balænoptera musculus_, |Distinct|  Short   |Slate       |About 70   |
+ |   Common Rorqual       |        |          |  colour--  |   feet    |
+ |                        |        |          |  shaded    |           |
+ |                        |        |          |  lighter to|           |
+ |                        |        |          |   inner    |           |
+ |                        |        |          |   edge     |           |
+ |                        |        |          |            |           |
+ |_Balænoptera sibbaldii_,|Very low|  Short   |Rich        | 80 to 100 |
+ |  Sibbald’s Rorqual     |        |          |     black  |   feet    |
+ |                        |        |          |            |           |
+ |                        |        |          |            |           |
+ |                        |        |          |            |           |
+ |_Balænoptera laticeps_, |   ?    |  Short   |  Black (?) | 30 or 40  |
+ |  Rudolphi’s Rorqual    |        |          |            |   feet    |
+ |                        |        |          |            |           |
+ |_Balænoptera rostrata_, |  High  |  Short   | Yellowish  | 25 to 30  |
+ |   Lesser Rorqual       |        |          |   white    |   feet    |
+ |                        |        |          |            |           |
+ +------------------------+--------+----------+------------+-----------+
+
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 16. Sperm Whale (_Physeter macrocephalus_, Linn.)]
+
+
+
+
+ODONTOCETI (TOOTHED WHALES).
+
+_PHYSETERIDÆ._
+
+
+The second sub-order into which the Cetacea are divided, is the
+_Odontoceti_, or Toothed Whales. In this section, baleen is never
+present, but well-developed teeth are found in one or both jaws of
+the adult; in some species they are very numerous; sometimes, though
+rarely, deciduous. The blow-hole is single, and the skull generally
+asymmetrical, or not precisely alike on both sides of the medial line.
+Professor Flower divides the _Odontoceti_ into three families, one of
+which, the _Platanistidæ_, as already said, is found only in India
+and South America: the other two, _Physeteridæ_ and _Delphinidæ_, are
+represented in our Fauna by about fifteen species.
+
+Of the _Physeteridæ_, four genera are represented in the British fauna
+by four or five species; namely, one _Physeter_, the Sperm Whale; two
+_Hyperoodon_, the common Beaked Whale, and a doubtful species called
+the Broad-fronted Beaked Whale; one _Ziphius_, Cuvier’s Whale; and one
+_Mesoplodon_, Sowerby’s Whale.
+
+
+SPERM WHALE, OR CACHELOT.
+
+By far the most conspicuous species of this interesting group is the
+SPERM WHALE, _Physeter macrocephalus_ (Linnæus), which rivals the
+Right-Whale in commercial importance, and in the value of its products.
+This species has a very wide geographical range, having been found
+in almost every sea between lat. 60° north and 60° south. The attempt
+has been made, I think unsuccessfully, to show that the Sperm Whale of
+the Southern Hemisphere is distinct from that of the northern; there
+seems, however, no reason, at present, to doubt, although, of course,
+it may eventually be found otherwise, that the same species of Sperm
+Whale ranges over the whole of this vast tract of ocean. North of
+about 40° it appears to be only a straggler, and although the Arctic
+seas are almost always stated by authors to be its head-quarters, very
+few well-authenticated instances of its occurrence farther north than
+Scotland are on record; Lilljeborg excludes it from his account of the
+Scandinavian Cetacea, but Herr Collett says that within the last 100
+years, at least two individuals of this species have been stranded
+on the Norwegian coast, and that Professor Sars, during a stay in
+Loffoden, received information which convinced him that one was seen
+there in the summer of 1865.
+
+From the middle of the sixteenth to the middle of the seventeenth
+century, the stranding of individuals of this species on the coast
+of Great Britain, and, indeed, of other countries in Europe from the
+Netherlands to the Mediterranean, was by no means a rare occurrence;
+these were generally solitary males, but occasionally small “schools”
+were met with, as in July, 1577, in the Scheldt, where three were
+taken; also, at Hunstanton, in Norfolk, in 1646, mentioned below.
+
+Of its occurrence on the British coast there are numerous instances;
+in all cases, however, they are believed by Andrew Murray to have been
+stragglers, “which have rounded Cape Horn (they have never been known
+to double the Cape of Good Hope) or unpromising colonies, for they are
+becoming scarcer and scarcer in more than their due proportion.”[29]
+Eight or ten individuals of this species have occurred on the coast of
+Scotland between the years 1689 and 1871 (Alston, ‘Fauna of Scot.’, p.
+18).
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 17. Chair in Great Yarmouth Church, formed from the
+basal portion of the skull of the Sperm Whale.]
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 18. Back view of the same.]
+
+In the church of St. Nicholas, at Great Yarmouth, is the basal portion
+of a skull of this animal, which has been converted into a chair: it
+formerly stood outside the church, and of course, as it was an object
+of wonder, it was relegated to the powers of darkness, and _christened_
+(?) the “Devil’s Seat;” it has, however, now been admitted into mother
+church, and stands beside the north-west door under the clock. In the
+churchwardens’ accounts for 1606 there is a charge of 8s. for painting
+this chair, which clearly proves its antiquity. In a letter to Sir
+Thomas Browne (Wilkins’ edit., 1852, editor’s preface to “Pseudodoxia,”
+vol. i. p. lxxxi.), Sir Hamon L’Estrange writes that in June, 1626, a
+Whale, afterwards referred to by Sir T. Browne as a Sperm Whale (vol.
+iii. p. 324), was cast upon his shore or sea-liberty, “some-tyme parcel
+of the possessions of the Abbey of Ramsey, &c.” The same author, in his
+account of the “Fishes found in Norfolk and on the Coast,” says, “A
+Spermaceti Whale of 62 feet long [came on shore] near Wells, another
+of the same kind twenty years before at Hunstanton [the one referred
+to by Sir H. L’Estrange]; and not far off, eight or nine came ashore,
+and two had young ones after they were forsaken by the water.” The
+Whale mentioned by Sir H. L’Estrange came on shore in 1626; twenty
+years after would give 1646 as the date of the Wells specimen; and
+in December of that year, according to Booth’s “History of Norfolk,”
+published in 1781 (vol. ix. p. 33), “A great Whale was cast on the
+shore here [at Holme-next-the-Sea], the wind blowing strongly at the
+north-west, 57 feet long, the breadth of the nose-end eight feet, from
+nose-end to the eye 15½ feet; the eyes about the same bigness as those
+of an ox, the lower chap closed and shut about four feet short of the
+upper; this lower chap narrow towards the end, and therein were 46
+teeth like the tusks of an elephant; the upper one had no teeth, but
+sockets of bones to receive the teeth: two small fins only, one on
+each side, and a short small fin on the back; it was a male ...; the
+breadth of the tail, from one outward tip to the other, was 13½ feet.
+The profit made of it was £217 6s. 7d., and the charge in cutting it
+up and managing it came to £100 or more.” It seems probable that a
+“school” got bewildered in the shallow waters of the Wash, and that the
+individual of which Booth gives such an excellent description, formed
+one of the same party as the eight or nine mentioned by Sir T. Browne.
+In May, 1652, Mr. Arthur Bacon writes to Sir T. Browne about the Sperm
+Whale cast on shore at Yarmouth, but the actual date of the occurrence
+is not given. Since these ancient records, many others have occurred
+at intervals, singly or in small parties, on various parts of the
+coast; the last instance, I believe, being in July, 1871, when one was
+stranded on the shore of the Isle of Skye.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 19. SKELETON OF THE SPERM WHALE (after Flower).
+
+s, Spermaceti Cavity; n, Nasal Passage, in dotted line; b, Blow-hole.]
+
+Of the osteology of the Sperm Whale, Professor Flower has given an
+exhaustive description in a paper published in the ‘Transactions’
+of the Zoological Society, vol. vi., and of its habits a very
+interesting account is given by Thomas Beale, who, in the capacity of
+surgeon on board ships employed in the South Sea fishery, had unusual
+opportunities of observing this remarkable animal. He published a
+book entitled ‘The Natural History of the Sperm Whale,’ to which I am
+largely indebted for what I shall have to say about this species.
+
+The colour of the Sperm Whale is black above and grey beneath, the
+colours gradually shading into each other. The full-grown male is about
+sixty feet long; the females are much smaller and more slender than the
+males. The head, which constitutes more than one-third of the whole
+of the animal, presents a very remarkable appearance, the truncated
+form of the snout looking as though it were cut off at right angles
+to the body: at the upper angle is situated the single blow-hole. The
+juncture of the head with the body is the thickest portion, and the
+body decreases little in size till the “hump,” which is situated in
+the place of the dorsal fin, is reached; from this point it rapidly
+diminishes to the tail. The flukes of the tail are from twelve to
+fourteen feet in breadth, and the two flippers each about six feet
+long. The under jaw is pointed, and about two feet shorter than the
+upper; it is furnished with about twenty-five large conical teeth on
+each side; but the number is not constant, nor is it always the same
+on each side. In the upper jaw are no visible teeth, but those of the
+lower jaw shut into corresponding depressions in the upper. The tongue
+is small, and, like the lining of the mouth, of a white colour. The
+upper part of the head, called the “case,” contains the “spermaceti,”
+which upon the death of the animal granulates into a yellowish
+substance. Beale says that a large Whale not unfrequently contains a
+ton of spermaceti. Beneath the “case” is situated the “junk,” which
+consists of a dense cellular mass, containing oil and spermaceti. The
+blubber is about fourteen inches thick on the breast, and in most
+other parts of the body from eight to eleven inches. By the whalers
+this covering is called the “blanket.” With regard to the apparently
+ungainly head of the Sperm Whale, Beale remarks as follows:--“One of
+the peculiarities of the Sperm Whale, which strikes at first sight
+every beholder, is the apparently disproportionate and unwieldy bulk of
+the head; but this peculiarity, instead of being, as might be supposed,
+an impediment to the freedom of the animal’s motion in its native
+element, is, in fact, on the contrary, in some respects, very conducive
+to its lightness and agility, if such a term can with propriety be
+applied to such an enormous creature; for a great part of the bulk of
+the head is made up of a thin membranous case, containing, during life,
+a thin oil, of much less specific gravity than water, below which is
+again the junk, which, although heavier than the spermaceti, is still
+lighter than the element in which the Whale moves; consequently, the
+head, taken as a whole, is lighter specifically than any other part of
+the body, and will always have a tendency to rise at least so far above
+the surface as to elevate the nostril or “blow-hole” sufficiently for
+all purposes of respiration; and more than this, a very slight effort
+on the part of the fish would only be necessary to raise the whole of
+the anterior flat surface of the nose out of the water. In case the
+animal should wish to increase his speed to the utmost, the narrow
+inferior surface, which has been before stated to bear some resemblance
+to the cutwater of a ship, and which would, in fact, answer the same
+purpose to the Whale, would be the only part exposed to the pressure
+of the water in front, enabling him thus to pass with the greatest
+celerity and ease through the boundless track of his wide domain.[30]
+When swimming at ease, the Sperm Whale keeps just below the surface
+of the water, and goes at about three or four miles an hour; but on
+an emergency it is able to attain a speed of ten or twelve miles an
+hour: it then progresses by means of powerful lateral strokes of its
+tail, and alternately rises and sinks at each stroke. In progressing
+in this manner, the blunt anterior surface of the head never presents
+itself directly to the water; the animal’s body being in an oblique
+position, it is only the angle formed by the inferior surface which
+first presents itself, and this, which Beale likens to the “cutwater”
+of a ship, offers the least possible amount of resistance.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 20. SKULL OF SPERM WHALE.]
+
+When undisturbed, the Sperm Whale rises to the surface to breathe about
+once every hour. Beale says the regularity with which every action
+connected with its breathing is performed is remarkable; the time
+occupied differs slightly in each individual, but each one is minutely
+regular in the performance of every action connected with respiration,
+so that the whalers know how long it will remain beneath the surface
+before reappearing to renew its supply of air. A full-grown “bull,”
+he says, remains at the surface ten or eleven minutes, during which
+he makes sixty or seventy expirations; after which he disappears, to
+return again to the surface in one hour and ten minutes. The blowing
+is not accompanied by any sound, and notwithstanding the wonderful
+accounts of its roarings and bellowings, the Sperm Whale may be said
+to be an absolutely silent animal. The females and young males are
+gregarious, but are found in separate herds or “schools,” as they
+are called. A “school” will sometimes consist of five or six hundred
+individuals. The herds of females are always accompanied by from one to
+three large “bulls;” but the full-grown males are said to be generally
+solitary in their habits, except on certain occasions, when it is
+supposed they are migrating from one feeding-place to another. The
+majority of those which occur on our coast are these solitary males;
+when they visit us in herds, as mentioned by Sir Thomas Browne, they
+are all probably females or young males. The “bulls” are very fierce
+and jealous, and fight fiercely. The females show great attachment to
+each other and to their young, so much so that, one being wounded, the
+others of the herd remain and fall a comparatively easy prey. The young
+males, on the other hand, are very wary and difficult of approach,
+and should one be attacked, the others immediately take the alarm and
+retreat. The female produces one young one, rarely two, at a time, and
+breeds at all seasons of the year. Their senses of sight and hearing
+are very acute, and after being once unsuccessfully attacked, they are
+very difficult and dangerous to approach.
+
+The food of the Sperm Whale consists almost entirely of Cephalopode
+Mollusks (cuttlefish), although at times, when feeding near the shore,
+it has been known to take fish as large as salmon. How it contrives to
+capture such active prey as fish seems difficult to conceive. Beale is
+of opinion that the Whale sinks to a proper depth in the sea, where
+remaining as quiet as possible, and opening wide its mouth, the prey
+are attracted by the glistening white colour of its lining membrane,
+curiosity leading them to destruction; for no sooner have a sufficient
+number entered his mouth than the Whale rapidly closes his under jaw,
+and they are made prisoners, and swallowed.
+
+The pursuit of the Sperm Whale is attended with much greater danger
+than that of the Greenland Whale, and Beale gives many instances
+in which, in his own experience, boats were stove in and men lost;
+stories of fighting Whales, he says, are numerous, and probably much
+exaggerated; one, known as “Timor Jack,” is said to have destroyed
+every boat sent against him, till at last he was killed by approaching
+him from several directions at the same time, his attention thus being
+diverted from the boat which made the successful attack. Another fish,
+known as “New Zealand Tom,” destroyed nine boats successively before
+breakfast, and when eventually captured, after destroying many other
+boats, many harpoons from the various ships which had attacked him were
+found sticking in his body. There is one well-authenticated instance of
+a vessel being attacked and destroyed by a Sperm Whale: the American
+whale-ship _Essex_ was attacked by one, which, first passing under the
+vessel, probably by accident, came in contact with her keel and carried
+it away: then turning and rushing furiously upon the ship, the Whale
+stove in her bow; so serious was the breach that the vessel speedily
+filled and went down. Most of the crew were away in their boats at the
+time, but those on board had just time to launch their one remaining
+boat before the vessel sank. The boats made for the coast of Peru, the
+nearest land, many hundreds of miles distant; one of them was picked up
+drifting at sea, and three of the crew, who were found in it in a state
+of insensibility, were the only survivors of the ill-fated vessel.
+
+In addition to the sperm and oil, this species yields another product
+which is, or was, very valuable, although it is the result of disease,
+and one would imagine a very uninviting substance--I refer to
+_Ambergris_, the origin and composition of which was so long a puzzle
+to the learned. This substance is now well known to be a concretion of
+the indigestible portions of the Cuttlefish, which form the food of
+the Sperm Whale. The nucleus of the mass is generally the horny beaks
+of these creatures, and the substance itself is found in the intestines
+of the Sperm Whale, or on the shores of the seas frequented by this
+species: no other Whale is known to be subject to these bezoars. It
+was formerly believed that the origin of ambergris was in some way
+connected with the sea, and when it was afterwards found in Whales,
+the fact was simply attributed to their having swallowed it. Sir
+Thomas Browne writes of the Sperm Whale which came on shore at Wells,
+in 1646:--“In vain was it to rake for ambergriese in the paunch of
+this leviathan, as Greenland discoverers and attests of experience
+dictate that they sometimes swallow great lumps thereof in the sea;
+insufferable fœtor denying that inquiry; and yet if, as Paracelsus
+encourageth, ordure makes the best musk, and from the most fœtid
+substances may be drawn the most odoriferous essences; all that had
+not Vespasian’s nose (_Cui odor lucri ex re qualibet_) might boldly
+swear here was a subject fit for such extractions” (vol. i., p. 356).
+It was not until 1783, in a paper read before the Royal Society by Dr.
+Swediaur, that a scientific account of the origin of ambergris was made
+known. At the present time its medical virtues, which were formerly
+considered very great, are altogether at a discount, and the only use
+to which it is applied is in the preparation of perfumery.
+
+The South Sea whale-fishery was long prosecuted by the Americans before
+the British ships took part in it, from 1771 to 1775 Massachusetts is
+said by McCulloch to have had 121 vessels in this trade; about the
+beginning of the American war, however, the English also sent out
+ships, and in 1791 had 75 vessels engaged in the South Seas. The number
+of British ships, as with those employed in the northern fisheries,
+varied considerably, influenced probably by the varying amounts of
+bounty offered by the Government, but never exceeded 75; in 1815 they
+had fallen off to 22; in 1820 they again rose to 68, from which they
+gradually fell to 31 in 1829, all of which sailed from the port of
+London. Beale sailed from London, in 1831, in the “Kent,” returning in
+the “Sarah and Elizabeth,” both of which vessels belonged to Thomas
+Sturge. The duration of the voyage was from two to four or even five
+years, the average of 199 voyages being three years and three months,
+and the yield of oil, 169 tons per voyage. At the present time no
+British vessels are engaged in the South Sea trade, which has again
+reverted to the Americans.
+
+I have said very little about the method of pursuit and capture of
+this species, and of the Right-Whale, because it is a subject in
+which I take no pleasure; those who wish to know how these peaceful
+and highly-organised giants are approached, and how they behave when
+terrified and smarting under the harpoon and whale-lance, can pursue
+the subject _ad nauseam_ in the pages of Scoresby, Beale, and others;
+the sickening process of “flensing” and disposing of the blubber is
+described with equal minuteness. The halo of romance with which some
+authors seek to surround the whale-fishery, is, doubtless, in a great
+measure due to the solitary and distant fields of operation, whether
+it be in the frozen regions of the north, or the vast and trackless
+oceans of the south, but its stern reality is prosaic enough. The
+occupation is one of hardship and danger, but the remuneration when
+successful is large in proportion, and I can hardly conceive, under any
+circumstances, of men inflicting the fearful amount of suffering which
+every “full” whale-ship, or in a still greater degree every “full”
+sealer, represents. Science is constantly adding to our resources, and
+it is sincerely to be hoped that ere long substitutes may be found
+for animal oil and whalebone which will supersede their use in the
+few processes in which they are still requisite: should this be long
+delayed, it is to be feared that the Seals and Whales, at least of
+the northern seas, will soon cease to exist. In the meantime, it is
+gratifying to find that it is from the sealers and whalers themselves
+that the demand for the better regulation of the trade has emanated,
+and the name of Captain David Gray, of Peterhead, stands prominent
+amongst those who have urged upon the governments of this and other
+countries concerned, such regulations as shall insure greater humanity
+in its prosecution, and prevent the wasteful destruction which,
+if continued, must speedily ruin a valuable source of commercial
+enterprise.
+
+Although so widely spread over the waters of the globe, possessing, I
+believe, a range greater than any other known mammal, it is only open
+and deep waters which can be said to be the home of the Sperm Whale;
+when found in shallow seas, its generally emaciated condition indicates
+the absence of its proper nourishment; and the readiness with which
+whole herds precipitate themselves stupidly upon the sands, shows how
+little they are acquainted with such objects. Mr. Andrew Murray makes
+some observations upon this subject, which are so interesting and so
+suggestive that I cannot resist making a long quotation.
+
+Speaking of those specimens which have now and then been cast ashore in
+the North Atlantic or in the English seas, he says: “They seem to be
+unprepared for, or not adapted for, shallow seas. Accustomed (perhaps
+not individually, but by hereditary practice or instinct) to swim along
+the coral islands of the Pacific within a stone’s throw from the shore,
+they cannot understand, their instinct is not prepared to meet, shallow
+coasts and projecting headlands. If they were habitual residents in
+our seas, they must either be speedily extirpated, learn more caution,
+or be developed into a new species.” ... Mr. Murray further says: “I
+observe that almost every place that has been above mentioned as a
+favourite resort of the Sperm Whales, although not out of soundings,
+has claims to be considered the site of submerged land. The islands in
+the Polynesia, which are its special feeding-ground, are the beacons
+left by the submerged Pacific continent. In pure deep seas animal life
+is usually scarce, and the absence of breeding-ground is probably the
+chief cause of it; but this only applies to a certain kind of animals,
+those which require a bottom on which to deposit their spawn; but there
+are many which do not require this. The spawn of some floats about
+unattached; for others a frond of weed is sufficient attachment; and
+it has occurred to me that the distribution of the Sperm Whale may in
+some way be connected with the geological antecedents of the ocean it
+inhabits. I think it not improbable that the site of a submerged land
+may swarm with life, which originally proceeded, or was dependent on
+it, long after it had been in the deep bosom of the ocean buried. The
+Sargasso seas, which swarm with _Eolidæ_ and _Crustacea_, are examples
+of this life; it is not invariably either present or absent in deep
+water, and it is its presence or its absence which is instructive.
+Those animals which required a bottom to spawn upon may have died out
+or been developed into others which do not; and those which do not
+require such a support may have multiplied correspondingly. In one of
+the maps in Lieutenant Maury’s book, already cited, there is a space
+of sea opposite the western coast of South America, and lying between
+Patagonia and New Zealand, marked ‘Desolate region, distinguished
+by the absence of animal or vegetable life’;--no Sperm Whales
+here--nothing for them to feed upon--and no symptoms, either by banks
+of Sargasso or coral islets, of any land ever having existed there.
+There is no apparent reason why this place, except from some special
+cause peculiar to itself, should be more desolate than any other in the
+same latitude--than the deep sea on the east side of Patagonia, for
+example. I can imagine that, if the bottom of the sea should subside
+gradually, where animal life had once abounded, animal life--not that
+animal life, but animal life due in some way to it--might continue
+to linger over it long after it had passed beyond the depth at which
+it could practically have any effect upon the animal life above it;
+but if a part of the circumference of the globe has always been under
+water, before and ever since the creation of life, no life is likely
+to be found on that spot, because it has never had a starting-point
+of life from which to begin; and, as already said, a slender barrier
+stops the spread of species, and species would certainly not spread to
+a spot where there was nothing for them to feed upon. Again, animal
+life could not begin to feed upon animal life till vegetable life had
+previously prepared the way, by providing food for the animals which
+were to furnish food for others; and vegetable life could not begin to
+grow without a foundation of land, accessible either above or below
+water. The total and constant absence of all life at any particular
+spot appears to me, therefore, to furnish a presumption that there has
+never been dry land or shallow water there. Whether the continuance of
+deep water in one spot for some interminably long time might not have
+the same effect is another question, which, whatever way it may be
+answered, would not affect my explanation of the cause of the absence
+of the Sperm Whale from such spots.”[31]
+
+The woodcuts (figs. 17 and 18), representing the chair in Yarmouth
+Church, which is formed of part of the skull of an individual of this
+species, are from the ‘Purlestrations of Great Yarmouth,’ by Mr. C. J.
+Palmer.
+
+
+THE ZIPHIOID WHALES.
+
+The sub-family _Ziphiinæ_, which follows next, is, perhaps, the most
+remarkable of the whole of this interesting order. The _Ziphioid_
+Whales, as they are designated, are, for the most part, very rare, and
+until the commencement of the present century, with one exception, were
+known to science only from their numerous remains, found chiefly in the
+Crag deposits. Even so recently as 1871, Professor Flower, in a memoir
+of this group[32] speaks of their occurrence at irregular intervals,
+and at various and most distant parts of the world, to the number of
+about 30 individuals, in all cases solitary, and that their habits were
+almost absolutely unknown. Since that time, however, very considerable
+additions have been made to our knowledge of the group, and Professor
+Flower, in a second contribution on the same subject[33] made in 1877,
+states that “instead of being so rare as was then supposed, since the
+attention of naturalists resident in our colonies has been directed to
+the importance of losing no opportunity of securing such specimens as
+accidents of wind and waves may cast upon their shores, it has been
+proved that in the seas of the Southern Hemisphere these Whales exist
+in considerable numbers, both as species and as individuals, and that
+one species, at least [_Mesoplodon grayi_] is gregarious, having been
+met with in two instances in ‘schools’ of considerable numbers.” “The
+geographical distribution of the group,” adds Professor Flower[34] “has
+a very great interest in relation to that of many other Australian
+groups, both of vertebrates and invertebrates. Among the earliest known
+remains of Cetacea, in the Belgian and Suffolk Crags, _Mesoplodon_
+and closely-allied forms are most abundant. Up to a little more than
+ten years ago, the few stray individuals of _Mesoplodon bidens_
+occasionally stranded on the shores of North Europe, were supposed to
+be their sole survivors. Since that time it has been proved that they
+are still numerous in species, and even in individuals ... in the seas
+which surround the Australian continent, extending from the Cape of
+Good Hope on the one side, to New Zealand on the other, though beyond
+these limits no specimens have yet been met with. It is the history
+of the Marsupial Mammals, of _Ceratodus_, of _Terebratula_, and of
+numerous other forms.”
+
+The group is divided into four genera--_Hyperoodon_, _Berardius_,
+_Ziphius_, and _Mesoplodon_ (the second of which is not represented in
+our Fauna). Its members were formerly distinguished by the absence
+of functional teeth in the upper jaw, but, recently, a row of small
+teeth, of determinate number and definite form, has been discovered
+in many individuals of a species of _Mesoplodon_. The teeth in the
+lower jaw are always quite rudimentary, with the exception of one, or
+occasionally, two pairs. These may be largely developed, especially
+in the male sex, and are placed, generally, well forward. “They have
+a small and pointed enamel-covered crown, composed of true dentine,
+which, instead of surmounting a root of the ordinary character, is
+raised upon a solid mass of osteo-dentine, the continuous growth of
+which greatly alters the form and general appearance of the organ as
+age advances.” In _Mesoplodon layardi_ this little dentine cap is not
+larger than the portion of the tooth ordinarily shown above the gum,
+but the fang-like growth is so great that the tips of the “tusks” meet
+over the upper jaw, so that the animal is only able to open its mouth
+for a very short distance indeed. The form assumed in _Mesoplodon
+bidens_ will be seen in the figure of the head of that species, at p.
+104. The blow-hole is sub-crescentic, and a pair of remarkable furrows
+occurs in the skin of the throat, almost in the form of the letter V,
+the point directed forward. The skull presents a remarkable appearance
+in the genus _Hyperoodon_, caused by the enormous maxillary crests
+which produce the peculiar conformation of the head in the living
+animal, originating the trivial name “Bottle-head.” The food of the
+whole group is said to consist mainly of _Loligo_, commonly called
+“Squid,” and other Cephalopods which frequent the open sea.
+
+One very singular circumstance with regard to these creatures is that
+they never seem to be taken at sea, but, whenever procured, it is by
+their running themselves on shore. This, as before remarked with regard
+to the Sperm Whale, would seem to indicate that their natural habitat
+is the deep waters of the open seas, where shallows are unknown. The
+sand-banks which surround a sloping shore, of which they have had no
+experience, speedily prove fatal to them.
+
+
+BEAKED WHALE.
+
+The common BEAKED WHALE, or BOTTLE-HEAD (_Hyperoodon rostratum_,
+Chemnitz; _Hyperoodon butzkopf_, Lacépède), is of frequent occurrence
+in the North Atlantic, and generally visits our shores in autumn,
+sometimes ascending the estuaries of rivers: it has been taken several
+times at the entrance to the river Ouse. It is solitary in its habits,
+more than two being never met with in the same place, and in that
+case it is often the old female and her young one: the old male is
+said to be very shy and rarely secured. In September, 1877, an adult
+female, 24 ft. long, was taken in the Menai Straits; it was accompanied
+by another, probably its young one. Capt. Feilden met with what he
+believes to have been this species, just within the Arctic Circle;
+“each emission of breath was accompanied by a stentorian grunt, which
+closely resembled that of an elephant.”[35]
+
+The colour is black above, the under parts being lighter: the two teeth
+in the lower jaw are generally hidden in the gum. Its food consists of
+cuttlefish, the remains of great numbers of which have been found in
+its stomach.
+
+
+BROAD-FRONTED BEAKED WHALE.
+
+Another species of _Hyperoodon_, for which the name _H. latifrons_
+has been proposed, is by some supposed to exist. Scarcely anything is
+known about it as a species. “The principal distinctive characters of
+the skull lie in the great raised crests of the maxillary bones, which
+are very much thickened and flattened above, so as almost to touch
+one another, whereas, in _H. rostratum_, they are rather sharp-edged
+above, and separated by a considerable interval. In _H. latifrons_,
+these crests rise absolutely _higher_ than the occipital region of the
+skull, which is not the case in the common species.”[36] Individuals
+possessing these peculiarities have been taken three or four times
+on the British coast, and on one occasion, in Greenland. Another
+was stranded in 1873, at Hasvig, near Hammerfest, and identified by
+Professor Sars from its remains; its length was 30 feet (Norse), and
+the colour dark on the back, but lighter beneath.[37] It has, however,
+been suggested, with much probability, by Eschricht, that these
+individuals are, after all, only the males of the preceding species;
+for all the specimens with broad crests, of which the sex was noted,
+were males.
+
+
+CUVIER’S WHALE.
+
+CUVIER’S WHALE (_Ziphius cavirostris_, Cuv.; _Epiodon desmarestii_,
+J. E. Gray, ‘Cat. Seals and Whales’), another of this remarkable
+group, has been met with once on the coast of Shetland, and it, or
+its remains, have been found about five or six times in other parts
+of Europe, and also, it is believed, at the Cape of Good Hope, the
+east coast of South America, and New Zealand. Professor Turner is of
+opinion that the geographical range of _Ziphius cavirostris_ equals
+that possessed by the Spermaceti Whale.[38] In colour this species is
+believed to resemble Sowerby’s Whale; it has two teeth, one on each
+side of the lower jaw, close to the extremity.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 21. HEAD OF SOWERBY’S WHALE (_Mesoplodon
+sowerbiensis_, De Blainville).
+
+From Trans. Roy. Irish Acad.]
+
+Cuvier established the genus _Ziphius_ in 1825, from a fossil skull
+found on the coast of Provence in 1804, which he believed at the time
+to belong to an extinct animal.
+
+
+SOWERBY’S WHALE.
+
+One more British Ziphioid is known, SOWERBY’S WHALE (_Mesoplodon
+sowerbiensis_, De Blainville); it was first described from a specimen
+which came ashore at Brodie, Elginshire, in 1800, and has since been
+found three times in Ireland; there is also a skull in the Museum of
+Science and Art at Edinburgh, which belonged to a specimen believed to
+have been captured somewhere on the Scotch coast; the remains of five
+others are preserved in various Continental museums.
+
+Of the individual which came on shore on the coast of Kerry, in March,
+1864, Mr. Andrews has given a description in the “Transactions of the
+Royal Irish Academy,” for April, 1867. Fortunately, it came under
+the notice of Dr. Busteed, of Castle Gregory, who being interested
+in zoology, and aware of the great importance of the occurrence,
+photographed the head in several positions while it was yet fresh: Dr.
+Busteed’s photographs were reproduced in the Transactions of the Royal
+Irish Academy. The head had unfortunately been removed immediately
+behind the frontal portion of the skull, the base of which is lost,
+as are also the other parts of the skeleton. The total length of the
+animal was about fifteen feet, the two teeth largely developed and
+projecting like the tusks of a boar. On the under part of the throat
+the V-shaped furrow was very conspicuous. Sowerby’s specimen was
+coloured black above, and nearly white below. The skin was smooth like
+satin. “Immediately under the cuticle the sides were completely covered
+with white vermicular streaks in every direction, which at a little
+distance appeared like irregular cuts with a sharp instrument.”
+
+
+_DELPHINIDÆ._
+
+The remaining family, _Delphinidæ_, as before stated, is a very
+numerous one. It has ten representatives in the British fauna,
+contained in seven genera, the first of which, according to the
+arrangement I have adopted, is that of _Monodon_.
+
+
+THE NARWHAL.
+
+The NARWHAL (_Monodon monoceros_, Linn.) is a native of the Polar seas
+seldom leaving the ice; stragglers have occurred three times on the
+British coast, one in 1648 in the Firth of Forth, another came ashore
+alive at Boston, in 1800; the third was taken in Shetland in 1808.
+
+This species is very numerous in the frozen seas to the north of
+latitude 65°, and is remarkable for the enormous development in the
+male of the left canine tooth, which is projected forward in the form
+of a tusk or spear, reaching to the length of six or eight feet, while
+the right tusk remains abortive, and does not pierce the alveolus. The
+spear is of fine compact ivory, hollow for the greater part of its
+length, grooved spirally from left to right, along its outer surface,
+the spiral generally making five or six turns, but smooth at the end,
+and bluntly pointed. Although the right canine is rarely developed, a
+few examples have occurred in which both tusks were present; the female
+is very rarely furnished with this appendage.
+
+Mr. J. W. Clark, in a paper on a ‘Skeleton of Narwhal, with two
+fully-developed tusks,’[39] writes as follows:--“The skulls of the
+Toothed Whales are generally asymmetrical, being twisted more or less,
+usually towards the left. This peculiarity is especially observable in
+Monodon. One would expect it to be greatly exaggerated in the skulls
+of the males, where the left tusk alone is developed, and the left
+maxillary is, in consequence, very large, and the right proportionately
+small; but it does not seem to be affected by the absence or presence
+of the teeth. Female skulls, where neither tusk is developed, are
+equally twisted, and so are the bidental skulls ... the increased size
+of the right maxillary does not appear to affect the rest of the skull.”
+
+Mr. Clark enumerates eleven skulls of the Narwhal in which both tusks
+are developed; four at Copenhagen, and one each in the museum of
+Hamburg, Christiania, Amsterdam, Weimar, Hull, Paris, and Cambridge; to
+these must be added a twelfth, which was brought from Prince Regent’s
+Inlet, by Capt. Gravill, of the “Camperdown,” and is now in the Dundee
+Museum.
+
+Not long since I saw preserved in a country mansion, the tusk of a
+Narwhal measuring 7 ft. 5 in. long; it was carefully kept in a long
+case resembling a barber’s pole, and bore a ticket attached, which
+stated that it was “Bequeathed in 1561 by the Countess of ----, to her
+daughter ----.” No doubt at the time this formed a valuable bequest,
+as even royal and ecclesiastical dignitaries are said to have esteemed
+these strange objects (probably associated with the mythical unicorn),
+as “good against” poisons and fevers, and prized them accordingly. The
+use of this remarkable appendage appears very doubtful; it has been
+conjectured that it serves to stir up food from the bottom of the sea,
+in which case the female would be badly off without it; or that it is
+employed to keep breathing-holes open in the ice, and an instance is
+related in support of this view, in which hundreds were seen at an
+ice-hole protruding their heads to breathe, but it is not clear whether
+they made the hole for themselves, or whether they were attracted by
+it, particularly as there were numbers of White Whales with them. It
+seems certain, however, that the tusk, which is frequently found in a
+broken condition, is used for purposes of attack and defence. Like the
+horn of the stag, it is, no doubt, a sexual distinction.
+
+The Narwhal is very social in its habits, great numbers being often
+met with together; its food consists of cuttlefish and crustaceans.
+The length of the full-grown animal is about 16 feet, the upper parts
+gray, the sides and belly white, and the whole animal spotted with
+black and gray. The only authentic figure of the Narwhal with which I
+am acquainted is that given by Scoresby; this is so well known from
+frequent reproduction that it is not necessary to give it here.
+
+
+THE WHITE WHALE.
+
+The WHITE WHALE, or BELUGA (_Delphinapterus leucas_, Pallas), like the
+preceding species, is a native of the Polar seas, where it is common;
+it is abundant in the White and Kara Seas, and in the Gulf of Obi;
+on the coast of Norway it is occasionally met with. From Scotland,
+five individuals have been recorded, but it must be regarded as only
+an accidental straggler. On the east coast of America it is found as
+far south as the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where, as in the White Sea, it
+delights in ascending the mouths of large rivers.
+
+No English examples have been met with, but, in the British Association
+Report on the Fauna of Devonshire (1869, pp. 84 and 85) occurs the
+following passage. “Mr. H. P. Gosse writes:--‘On August 5th, 1832, I
+was returning from Newfoundland to England, and was sailing up the
+British Channel close to the land, when, just off Berry Head, I saw
+under the ship’s bows a large cetacean of a milky white hue, but
+appearing slightly tinged with green from the intervening stratum
+of clear water. It was about 16 feet long, with a round bluff head.
+It continued to swim along before the vessel’s head, a few yards
+beneath the surface, for about ten minutes, maintaining our rate of
+speed, which was five knots an hour, all which time I enjoyed from the
+bow-sprit a very good view of it. It could have been no other than the
+White Whale, the _B. borealis_ of Lesson.’” Mr. Alston also states that
+Mr. J. G. Gordon informed him that in June, 1878, “he saw a large white
+cetacean, presumably of this species, in Loch Etive.”
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 22. BELUGA, caught by the tail, near Dunrobin,
+Sutherlandshire.]
+
+In a communication to the Zoological Society of London,[40] quoting
+a letter from the Rev. Dr. Joass, of Golspie, Professor Flower thus
+describes the singular capture of one of these rare visitants to our
+seas:--“It was found close to the salmon-nets, near the Little Ferry,
+about three miles to the westward of Dunrobin, Sutherlandshire, at ebb
+tide, on Monday, June 9th, 1879, caught by the tail between two short
+posts, to which a stake-net was fastened; and a salmon, of 18 lbs.
+weight, which was supposed to have been the object of its pursuit,
+was found in front of it. It measured 12 ft. 6 in. in length. The
+tail was 34 inches across, and the flippers 17 inches long. It was a
+female [adult] and had twenty teeth in the upper jaw, and sixteen in
+the lower. the stomach contained a few flakes of fish, which, from
+their size and colour, might have been salmon.... I have heard since,
+that two days before its capture, it was seen off Cracaig by Brora
+fishermen, who were lying at their lines. At first they thought it was
+a human body; as it approached, _against the ebb_, they took it for
+a ghost!” On examining the skull of this specimen, Professor Flower
+discovered that, at some previous period of the animal’s existence,
+the atlas had been completely dislocated, “the whole of the surfaces,
+formerly in apposition, being now free from each other,” an injury to
+an aquatic animal as difficult to account for as it is to imagine the
+possibility of its surviving, but affording a remarkable instance of
+the creature’s recuperative power.
+
+The Whales exhibited at the Westminster Aquarium, in September, 1877,
+and again in May, 1878, belonged to this species; unfortunately they
+did not live to equal in docility and intelligence a specimen exhibited
+in America, which “learned to recognize his keeper, and would allow
+himself to be handled by him, and at the proper time would come and
+put his head out of the water to receive the harness” by which he was
+attached to a car in which he drew a young lady round the tank,--or
+to take his food. A specimen of _Delphinus tursio_, which was for a
+time with him in the same tank, is said to have been even more docile
+than this remarkable animal.[41] The adult Beluga is pure white, and a
+“school” of these animals “leaping and playing in the calm, dark sea,”
+is said to be a very beautiful sight. In summer the Greenlanders kill
+great numbers, extracting the oil and drying the flesh for winter use;
+in Russia, the prepared skin is much used for reins or other parts of
+harness requiring great strength and lightness; in this country, too,
+under the name of porpoise-hide, it is now extensively used, and the
+salted skins sell for from 3s. 6d. to 4s. 6d. per lb. The whale-ship,
+“Arctic,” of Dundee, brought home 600 skins from Davis Strait, in the
+season of 1880. The length of the full-grown animal is about 16 ft.,
+and its food consists of fishes, Crustacea, and Cephalapods.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 23. THE GRAMPUS (_Orca gladiator_, Lacép.)]
+
+
+THE GRAMPUS, OR KILLER.
+
+The common GRAMPUS, or KILLER (_Orca gladiator_, Lacépède), (fig. 23)
+is a well-known and widely-dispersed species, being found in both the
+North Atlantic and Pacific Seas. Andrew Murray says “the common Grampus
+tumbles through the heavy waves all the way from Britain to Japan,
+_viâ_ the North-west Passage.” In the British seas it is frequently met
+with, and has occurred in several instances on the coast of Norfolk.
+This species is very fierce, its appetite insatiable, and carnivorous
+in the strictest sense of the word; to the Greenland and White Whale,
+as well as to Porpoises and Seals, it is an implacable enemy, and
+follows them ruthlessly. Dr. Brown says, “the White Whale and Seals
+often run ashore, in terror of this cetacean, and I have seen Seals
+spring out of the water when pursued by it. The whalers hate to see it,
+for its arrival is the signal for every Whale to leave that portion of
+the ice.” Eschricht took out of the stomach of a Killer, 21 ft. long,
+which came ashore in Jutland, no less than thirteen common porpoises
+and fourteen Seals.
+
+The rounded, compact form of this species gives the idea of great
+strength and swiftness, and the beautifully-polished glossy black skin
+of the back contrasting with the equally pure and well-defined white
+of the lower parts has a very striking effect; over the eye there is
+a well-defined white spot. It is a very handsome species, but there is
+something in its appearance which seems to indicate its cruel nature.
+Thirteen or fourteen strong, slightly curved teeth are found on either
+side of both jaws; the flippers are broad and oval-shaped, the dorsal
+fin high and falcate, particularly in the male.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 24. _Pseudorca crassidens_ (Owen).]
+
+As my object is mainly that of assisting in the identification of
+casual visitants to our shores, rather than of giving anything like a
+history of the known British species of Cetacea, it may be desirable
+to mention here a very remarkable form, which, although it has never
+been known to occur in the flesh on our shores, was first made known
+to science from an imperfect skeleton found in a semi-fossil condition
+beneath the peat in a Lincolnshire Fen. To this Dolphin, “come back,
+as it were, from the dead,” and which forms a connecting link between
+the genus _Orca_ and the genera _Grampus_ and _Globicephalus_ (and
+which Owen had named _Phocœna crassidens_), Reinhardt gives the name of
+_Pseudorca crassidens_. On the 24th November, 1861, a large shoal of
+these dolphins made their appearance in the Bay of Kiel. The sailors
+succeeded in separating about thirty of them from the remainder, but
+all, with one exception, escaped. This was a female 16 feet long,
+which, after being exhibited at Kiel and other places, was bought for
+the Museum of the University of Kiel. In the summer of 1862, three
+other individuals, presumably from the same shoal, were thrown ashore
+on the north-western coast of Zealand. Of the general appearance of
+this creature the accompanying figure (24), copied, by kind permission,
+from Professor Flower’s translation of Reinhardt’s paper,[42] published
+by the Ray Society, will give an idea; the figure is from a photograph
+of the Kiel specimen, and is not in the original paper. The length is
+from 16 to 19 feet; of the colour no account is given, but, judging
+from the woodcut of the Kiel specimen, it appears to be uniformly
+shiny black. The number of teeth differs in individuals, but in this
+one it was from 9 to 10 on either side of the lower jaw, and 8 to 10
+in the upper. From the observations made by Reinhardt, he suggests
+a possibility that there may be “a difference in the sizes of the
+different sexes, and whether the females are not larger, but at the
+same time, perhaps, provided with a head comparatively smaller than
+that of the males.” It is very suggestive of how little we know of the
+inhabitants of the sea, that at least one vast shoal of a species known
+only from its sub-fossil remains should be roaming the seas only to be
+accidentally discovered when its members became entangled in shallows
+from which probably many never lived to extricate themselves.
+
+
+RISSO’S GRAMPUS.
+
+RISSO’S DOLPHIN (_Grampus griseus_, G. Cuvier; _Grampus cuvieri_, Gray,
+Ann. Nat. Hist., 1846) is a rare and little-known species, which has
+been met with four times on the south coast of England, and about
+eight times in France. In the ‘Transactions’ of the Zoological Society,
+for 1871, Professor Flower gives an account of an adult female which
+was taken in a mackerel-net, near the Eddystone Lighthouse, on 28th
+February, 1870, and which eventually was sent up to London. About a
+month later, a second specimen was received in London, the precise
+locality of which was not known, but it was probably from somewhere in
+the Channel. This was also a female, but a very young animal, and as
+the adult female first taken had recently given birth to a young one,
+it is quite possible that it may have belonged to her. On the 26th
+July, a male of the same species was captured alive at Sidlesham, near
+Chichester, and sent to the Brighton Aquarium, where it lived for a few
+hours only.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 25. RISSO’S DOLPHIN (_Grampus griseus_, G. Cuv.)]
+
+Risso’s Dolphin varies very considerably in its colouration. The
+Sidlesham specimen was bluish-black above, and dirty white beneath; in
+the adult female described by Professor Flower (from whose illustration
+our figure is, with his permission, copied), “the head and the whole
+of the body anterior to the dorsal fin was of a lightish grey,
+variegated with patches of both darker and whiter hue.... Behind the
+anterior edge of the dorsal fin the general colour of the surface,
+including the dorsal and caudal fins, was nearly black, though with
+a large light patch on the upper part of the side directly above the
+pudendal orifice. The middle of the belly as far back as the pudendal
+orifice, was greyish white.”[43] The most remarkable characteristic,
+however, was the presence, scattered over the body, of irregular light
+streaks and spots; these markings extended from the head to within
+about two feet from the tail; and presented a most singular appearance.
+In the young one the upper parts and sides of the body were almost
+black, and the lower parts nearly white, the junction between the two
+colours being very abrupt and sharp. “On each side of the body were
+six vertical whitish stripes nearly symmetrically arranged, and almost
+equidistant, being about six inches apart. They did not extend quite
+to the middle line of the body above, and were lost below in the light
+colouring of the abdomen.”[44] The length of the Sidlesham male was 8
+feet, that of the adult female 10 ft. 6 in.; in the former there were
+present four teeth on each side the lower jaw, in the latter three
+only on each side, and in the immature specimen there were present
+seven teeth, four on the right, and three on the left side; the teeth
+are always placed in the front part of the mandible, and in every
+specimen examined there has been an entire absence of teeth in the
+upper jaw. In general appearance, Risso’s Dolphin, more particularly
+the dark-coloured specimens, is said very much to resemble the next
+species (_Globicephalus melas_). Of its habits and distribution nothing
+positive is known, but from its visiting France and England in the
+spring or summer, M. Fischer concludes that this species “is migratory,
+visiting the shores of Europe in the summer, and passing in winter
+either to the south towards the coast of Africa, or to the west towards
+the American Continent.”[45]
+
+
+THE PILOT WHALE.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 26. PILOT WHALE (_Globicephalus melas_, Trail).]
+
+The PILOT WHALE (_Globicephalus melas_, Trail; _Delphinus melas_,
+Trail; _D. globiceps_, Cuv.; _D. deductor_, Scoresby), known in
+Shetland as the Ca’ing or Driving Whale, is a frequent, although a very
+uncertain, visitor in British waters. It is met with, according to
+Lilljeborg, in the North Sea and northern part of the Atlantic Ocean,
+occasionally as far north as Greenland; off the Orkney and Shetland
+Islands, and on the North-west coast of Norway, it frequently makes
+its appearance; and it has been found on the British coast as far
+south as Cornwall. In Bell’s ‘British Quadrupeds’ it is said that it
+also appears to enter the Mediterranean. This species is pre-eminently
+gregarious, and generally occurs in large herds, often numbering
+several hundreds. So strong is their habit of association that they
+follow the leading Whale like a flock of sheep, a habit of which the
+Orkney and Shetland Islanders are fully aware, and avail themselves to
+the full. When a herd appears in one of the bays, boats immediately
+put off, and if possible, get to seaward of them, then gradually
+approaching, with shouts and splashes, they urge the whole herd
+shoreward, and are generally successful in driving a large number of
+Whales into shallow water; but should the leader break through the line
+of boats, the probability is that no efforts the boats’ crews can make
+will prevent all its companions following. Bell gives many instances of
+large numbers of these animals being taken, the last of which, quoted
+from the ‘Zoologist’ for 1846, is, perhaps, the most extraordinary. It
+is there stated, “on newspaper authority,” that 2,080 were taken in
+Faroe in the previous year within six weeks, and that 1,540 were killed
+_within two hours_ in Quendall Bay, Shetland, on the 22nd September,
+1845.
+
+As it too frequently happens that the unfortunate cetaceans which fall
+into the hands of the fishermen are simply hacked to pieces, and die
+only from exhaustion arising from loss of blood, it is worthy of remark
+that, according to Herr Collett, of Christiania, in Norway they are
+readily killed by a rifle shot, in the throat, or under the breast.
+
+This species (fig. 26) is remarkable for its peculiarly rounded
+head,--hence its generic name; the flippers are long and pointed, the
+dorsal fin long and low; the teeth are about an inch in length, seldom
+all present in the adults, and the normal number, according to Bell,
+about twenty-four on either side each jaw; ten to twelve is, however,
+the more usual number present. The length of the adult is about
+nineteen or twenty feet, its colour glossy black, with the exception of
+a white stripe along the belly, which has a heart-shaped termination
+under the throat. Its favourite food is said to be cuttlefish. The
+figure is copied, with permission, from the ‘Transactions’ of the
+Zoological Society, vol. viii., pl. 30.
+
+
+PORPOISE.
+
+The COMMON PORPOISE (_Phocœna communis_, F. Cuv.; _Delphinus phocœna_,
+Linn.) is the best known of the Cetacea inhabiting the North Sea, being
+met with in abundance all round the British Isles, seldom occurring
+far from land, and often ascending large rivers for a considerable
+distance: it has been seen in the Thames as high as London Bridge.
+
+Nothing can be more interesting than to watch a shoal of these animals
+at sea, sometimes tumbling and gambolling under the bows of the vessel
+which is passing rapidly through the water, with as much ease as if
+she were motionless, or chasing each other playfully round and round
+the ship as she lies becalmed, their white bellies glistening in the
+clear sea, and frequently, apparently out of pure mad delight, leaping
+completely out of the water, returning to their native element with a
+most determined header. But it is not till seen in the glass-sided tank
+of the aquarium that the beauty, and even poetry of motion of these
+animals can be fully appreciated; swimming along in a series of gentle
+curves, they just bring the blow-hole to the surface, breathe without
+stopping, and continue the curve, till in due course they reach the
+surface again. This is repeated for the whole length of their spacious
+tank, or is varied by unexpected eccentricities, all indescribably
+graceful. Under these favourable circumstances for observation it is
+also clearly seen that the horizontal tail is the propeller which gives
+the motion; the alternate upward and downward pressure of this organ
+against the water evidently producing the graceful mode of progression
+which is so difficult to describe, but so easily understood when
+witnessed. The flippers are not used as propellers. When the animal
+is moving forwards they are laid back, against the body; but when it
+wishes to stop, they are stretched out at right angles to it, so as
+to offer a resistance to the water, and so arrest the onward motion of
+the animal. All this, although perfectly understood in theory before,
+strikes the beholder as a new and beautiful sight when first viewed in
+practice, from a stand-point, on a level with the animal itself, and as
+it were in its own element.
+
+The food of the Porpoise consists of fish, and it follows the shoals
+of herrings, &c., amongst which it commits great depredations; it has
+a taste for salmon, and is sometimes taken in the salmon-nets. The
+period of gestation is said to be six months, and it brings forth one
+young one at a birth; its colour is black on the back, shaded off
+to silver-grey on the belly, the whole skin beautifully smooth and
+polished. The teeth number about twenty-five on each side of either
+jaw, and are spatulate, with a contracted neck, unlike the usually
+conical teeth of the _Delphinidæ_. The length is four or five feet.
+The flesh of the Porpoise seems formerly to have been esteemed as an
+article of food, and is mentioned several times in the L’Estrange
+Household Book (1519 to 1578) and other similar records; it is said by
+one who has eaten it to be “excellent meat, dark in colour, and large
+in fibre, but of excellent flavour, very tender, and full of gravy.”
+
+
+THE COMMON DOLPHIN.
+
+The COMMON DOLPHIN (_Delphinus delphis_, Linn.), fig. 27, is not
+unfrequently met with in the seas surrounding the southern portion
+of the British Isles; but from the northern division of the kingdom,
+although it, doubtless, occasionally visits Scottish waters, there is
+no reliable record of its occurrence. This species, probably, often
+passes unrecognized. It may, however, be at once distinguished from
+the Porpoise by its attenuated beak, the head of the Porpoise being
+obtuse, and the beak altogether absent. It is a native of the temperate
+seas, and becomes scarcer as the north is approached. Van Beneden was
+not able to record it as frequenting the Belgian coast, but Lilljeborg
+says it is occasionally obtained on the coasts of Scandinavia, and Herr
+Collett has hardly any doubt that it occurs on the Norwegian coast
+as far north as Finmarken, and a large “school,” seen by Malmgren
+in April, 1861, in West-fjord, between the Loffoden Islands and the
+mainland, was referred by him, without hesitation, to this species.
+In Greenland it is said to be met with, but Professor Flower thinks
+it doubtful whether some species of an allied genus may not have been
+mistaken for it.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 27. COMMON DOLPHIN (_Delphinus delphis_, Linn.).]
+
+This is the true Dolphin of the Ancients, of which Professor Bell,
+in his ‘British Quadrupeds,’ says: “the mythological and poetical
+associations which belong to the Dolphin, its reputed attachment to
+mankind, its benevolent aid in cases of shipwreck, its dedication to
+the gods, and many other attributes expressive of the high estimation
+in which it was held in olden times, afford a striking example of
+how the unrestrained imagination of the ancients could raise the most
+gorgeous structures of poetry and religion upon the most slender
+basis.... It requires some stretch of the imagination to identify
+the round-headed creature which is represented in ancient coins
+and statues, with the straight sharp-beaked animal,” which is here
+figured. It is sad to destroy at one fell swoop all the romance which
+once surrounded this species; but Dr. Gray tells us that “the dying
+Dolphin’s changing hues” are not observed in a cetacean at all, but in
+a fish of the genus _Coryphæna_, which, although normally black, is
+stated by Mr. Couch (as quoted by Mr. Yarrell) to have changed to a
+fine blue whilst he was making a drawing of it. The food of the Dolphin
+consists of fish, cuttlefish, and crustaceans, and on the Cornish
+coast it makes its appearance in considerable numbers, according to
+Mr. Couch, in the month of September during the pilchard season. It is
+very social in its habits, and even more sportive in the water than its
+relative, the Porpoise. The illustration is copied from Reinhardt’s
+figure.
+
+Professor Flower thus describes a specimen taken in March, 1879,
+Mevagessey: “Instead of being simply black above and white below, as
+usually described, the sides were shaded, mottled, and streaked with
+various tints of yellow and grey, ... the under surface was of the
+purest possible white; perfect symmetry was shown in the colouring and
+markings on the two sides of the body.”[46] There is, probably, much
+variation in the disposal of the colour; in a beautiful drawing, in my
+possession, made by Mr. Gatcombe from a specimen taken at Plymouth, the
+colour is so disposed as to show two graceful waving lines, crossing
+each other about the centre of the animal’s body, forming a figure
+somewhat like an elongated figure eight. The dental formulæ vary from
+40/40 40/40 to 50/50 50/50, the numbers not always being equal, even on
+the different sides of the mouth of the same individual. The length is
+from 5 to 8 feet.
+
+
+BOTTLE-NOSED DOLPHIN.
+
+The BOTTLE-NOSED DOLPHIN (_Delphinus tursio_, Fab.; _Tursio truncatus_,
+Gray), fig. 28, appears to be found occasionally from the Mediterranean
+to the North Sea; it is by no means, however, a common species.
+Professor Flower says it “is rare in the Mediterranean, though Gervais
+gives several instances of its capture in the Gulf of Lyons. It
+probably has a more northern range than _D. delphis_; but, as in the
+case of that species, there is still much obscurity as to the exact
+limits of its distribution.”[47] A specimen was seen in January, 1873,
+in the fish-market at Algiers, by Mr. J. W. Clark, of Cambridge.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 28. BOTTLE-NOSED DOLPHIN (_Delphinus tursio_,
+Fabricius.)]
+
+Of the habits of this species very little is known: its colour is black
+above, shaded to white below, and its length from 8 to 12 feet; teeth
+from 21 to 25 on either side of each jaw, truncated when old. The
+figure is from a drawing of a nearly adult male, taken at Holyhead, in
+October, 1868, for which I am indebted to the kindness of Professor
+Flower.
+
+
+WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN.
+
+The WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN (_Delphinus acutus_, J. E. Gray;
+_Lagenorhynchus acutus_, Gray, Zool. Erebus and Terror), is a rare
+species, which has occurred in a few instances on the British coast;
+it is said, however, by Dr. A. R. Duguid, often to be seen about the
+Orkney Islands, but rarely secured. Its colour is black above and white
+below, between which runs a broad band of yellowish brown, about the
+centre of which, and surrounded by it, is a large oblong patch of pure
+white. The adult measures from 6 to 8 feet in length. A figure and
+description, by Dr. Duguid, taken from one of a herd of twenty landed
+at Kirkwall, on the 21st August, 1858, will be found in the ‘Ann. and
+Mag. of Nat. Hist.’ (3rd series) for August, 1864, vol. xiv., p. 133.
+
+
+WHITE-BEAKED DOLPHIN.
+
+The last species on the British list, the WHITE-BEAKED DOLPHIN
+(_Delphinus albirostris_, J. E. Gray; _Lagenorhynchus albirostris_, J.
+E. Gray, Zool. Erebus and Terror), is also of rare occurrence: it is a
+native of the North Atlantic, has occurred at the Faroe Islands, and
+on the coasts of Norway and Sweden, and Denmark, also at Ostend, but
+little is known of its habits. A Dolphin of this species was killed at
+Hartlepool in 1834, but not recognized at the time: the skull is now
+in the Cambridge Museum. This species was, I believe, first described
+as British by Mr. Brightwell, under the name of _D. tursio_, from a
+specimen taken off Yarmouth, in 1846. His paper, with a figure from a
+drawing made by Miss Brightwell, will be found in the ‘Ann. and Mag.
+of Nat. Hist.,’ first series, January, 1846, vol. xvii, p. 21. Another
+specimen was shot by Mr. H. M. Upcher, near Cromer, and will be found
+recorded by Dr. Gray in the same Magazine, for April, 1866, vol. xvii.,
+p. 312. A fourth, an adult male, 9 feet long, was taken at the mouth of
+the Dee, in December, 1862; and a fifth on the south coast, in 1871.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 29. WHITE-BEAKED DOLPHIN (_Delphinus albirostris_,
+J. E. Gray).]
+
+In September, 1875, a young female was taken off Grimsby, and in March,
+1876, a young male was captured off Lowestoft. The first-named of
+these latter formed the subject of a communication to the Zoological
+Society of London, by Dr. Cunningham, of Edinburgh, and the latter of a
+subsequent notice, by Mr. J. W. Clark, of Cambridge. Both papers will
+be found printed in the ‘Proceedings’ of the Zoological Society for
+1876, p. 679, _et seq._, and figures of the two specimens are given on
+the same plate. On the 24th August, 1879, a young female, the skull of
+which is now in the Norfolk and Norwich Museum, was landed at Yarmouth,
+and on the 22nd March, 1880, another young female was also landed
+at the same place, the exact locality in which it was taken being
+uncertain. On the 7th September, 1880, a young male, the first recorded
+Scotch specimen, was taken on the east coast, near the Bell Rock, thus
+realising the belief, expressed shortly before (‘Mammalia of Scotland,’
+_Nat. Hist. Soc. of Glasgow_, 1880, p. 23) by Mr. Alston, that it might
+be expected to occur in Scottish waters. The total length was 5 ft. 8
+in.
+
+Through the kindness of Mr. Clark, I am enabled to give a figure of
+the Lowestoft specimen. Mr. Clark’s figure differs considerably from
+Dr. Cunningham’s, both in outline and in the disposal of colour, being
+much more slender, and showing considerably less white; both, however,
+differ still more from Mr. Brightwell’s figure than they do from each
+other. A good figure of the adult animal is still a desideratum, that
+by Miss Brightwell being obviously incorrect. Mr. Clark’s specimen was
+glossy black on the upper part, and creamy white on the under; the
+upper lip white, with a black spot at the tip, and a few irregular
+pale grey cloudings on its surface; the coloration exceedingly
+beautiful, and such as no drawing could give an adequate idea of. The
+two last-named Yarmouth examples agreed very closely in all respects
+with Mr. Clark’s description. Mr. Brightwell’s specimen had the whole
+upper part and sides rich purple-black, the lips, throat, and belly
+cream-colour, varied by chalky-white. This specimen, an adult, measured
+8 ft. 2 in. in length, Mr. Clark’s 5 ft. 5½ in., and Dr. Cunningham’s
+4 ft. 2 in. Two others, also both young ones, measured respectively 4
+ft. 3 in., and 5 ft. The teeth vary in number, but are about twenty-six
+on either side each jaw; in one specimen, carefully examined by the
+writer, they were 26/24 26/24, several of the front teeth not having
+pierced the gum.
+
+In addition to those enumerated above, others are said to have occurred
+on the coast of Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and to have been seen
+off the Faroe Islands. It is singular that 5 of the 10 recorded British
+specimens should have been landed on the Norfolk coast.
+
+This species concludes the short list of the twenty-two British
+Cetacea, of which I have endeavoured to give a popular, but I hope, at
+the same time, so far as it is at present known, a reliable account;
+my principal object, as I stated in my introductory remarks, being to
+induce those residing in suitable localities to take up the study of
+this interesting family, and to assist in the identification of those
+specimens which from time to time are cast upon our shores.
+
+  NOTE TO PAGE 77, RUDOLPHI’S RORQUAL (_Balænoptera laticeps_, J. E.
+  Gray).--Professor Flower, since the brief account of this animal at
+  p. 77 was printed, has called my attention to the undoubted priority
+  of Lesson’s name for this species, _Balænoptera borealis_, which was
+  founded upon Cuvier’s “Rorqual du Nord”; he also points out that Van
+  Beneden and Gervais follow Lesson in this respect, and says that in
+  future it is his intention to do the same. As it is most important
+  to establish an uniform nomenclature, I do not hesitate to follow
+  so distinguished an authority, and now wish to supply the omission
+  as far as it is possible to do so. The species will, doubtless,
+  henceforth be known as _Balænoptera borealis_, Lesson, Complément des
+  Œuvres de Buffon, Cetacés.
+
+
+    JARROLD AND SONS, PRINTERS, LONDON AND EXCHANGE STREETS, NORWICH.
+
+
+
+
+                Cloth, 6s.; or in Half Morocco, 10s. 6d.
+
+                  OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF NORFOLK,
+
+                        AND MORE PARTICULARLY ON
+
+                       THE DISTRICT OF THE BROADS.
+
+                                   BY
+
+                  THE LATE REV. RICHARD LUBBOCK, M.A.,
+                           _Rector of Eccles_.
+
+                              NEW EDITION,
+ WITH ADDITIONS FROM UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPTS OF THE AUTHOR, AND NOTES BY
+                        THOMAS SOUTHWELL, F.Z.S.,
+  _Hon. Sec. to the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’ Society; Author of
+                    “Seals & Whales of the British Seas_;”
+                            ALSO A MEMOIR BY
+                        HENRY STEVENSON, F.L.S.;
+        AND AN APPENDIX CONTAINING NOTES ON HAWKING IN NORFOLK BY
+                    ALFRED NEWTON, M.A., F.R.S., &c.
+        AND ON THE DECOYS, REPTILES, SEA FISH, LEPIDOPTERA, AND BOTANY
+            OF THE COUNTY.
+
+
+OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
+
+  “Lubbock’s volume, written five-and-thirty years ago, has long been
+  out of print and scarce; and the reliable nature of the information
+  which it affords has for some time rendered a new edition a
+  _desideratum_ with naturalists. A new edition has at length appeared,
+  edited by Mr. Thomas Southwell, of Norwich, who has made some
+  valuable additions of his own in the shape of notes on the existing
+  mammalia of Norfolk, and on decoys past and present in the county,
+  prefaced by a memoir of the author by Mr. Henry Stevenson, and
+  supplemented by some interesting notes on Hawking in Norfolk, from
+  the pen of Professor Newton.”--_The Field._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  “In addition to the intrinsic merits of the book, of which we can
+  personally speak in the superlative degree as one of the most
+  pleasantly written of the many pleasant natural history books
+  our language is so rich in, describing, as it does, the ‘Broad
+  District’--a country unlike any other part of England, and a very
+  paradise to the botanist, entomologist, and ornithologist--this new
+  edition is edited by Mr. Thomas Southwell, the active Secretary of
+  the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’ Society, whose full and accurate
+  knowledge of the natural history of Norfolk better fits him for the
+  task than any other man we know of.”--_Science Gossip._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  “While Mr. Lubbock’s personal observations were chiefly directed
+  to the neighbourhood of the Broads, the editor has endeavoured
+  to make the work as comprehensive in its scope as possible, and
+  he includes the district known as Lothingland, between Lowestoft
+  and Yarmouth, which, though in Suffolk, belongs geographically to
+  Norfolk.”--_Midland Naturalist._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  “We promise to those who have never yet read this book, a rare treat
+  from its perusal.”--_Zoologist._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  “We can scarcely speak too highly of the way in which this volume
+  has been ‘got up,’ and the publishers have added such a map as has
+  never yet been executed of this county, showing, as it does, not only
+  the rivers and broads, and other principal pieces of water, but the
+  sites of heronries and decoys (used or disused), gulleries, and other
+  localities, having a special interest for Naturalists.”--_Norfolk
+  Chronicle._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  “The ‘Fauna’ is a book which everyone should read who desires to know
+  something of the natural history of Norfolk.”--_Norfolk News._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  “Absolutely reliable and authoritative as a work of reference, and
+  invaluable to every naturalist and ornithologist.”--_Live Stock
+  Journal._
+
+           JARROLD AND SONS, 3, PATERNOSTER BUILDINGS, LONDON;
+                AND LONDON AND EXCHANGE STREETS, NORWICH.
+
+
+        _Large 8vo., Cloth Boards, Seven Shillings and Sixpence._
+
+                         Rambles of a Naturalist
+
+                                   IN
+
+                       EGYPT AND OTHER COUNTRIES,
+
+                WITH AN ANALYSIS OF THE CLAIMS OF CERTAIN
+            FOREIGN BIRDS TO BE CONSIDERED BRITISH, AND OTHER
+                          ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES.
+
+                      BY J. H. GURNEY, JUN., F.Z.S.
+
+            JARROLD AND SONS, 3, PATERNOSTER BUILDINGS, LONDON;
+                AND LONDON AND EXCHANGE STREETS, NORWICH.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES
+
+[1] Dr. Robert Brown on the ‘Seals of Greenland.’ Reprinted, with
+additions, in the ‘Manual and Instructions for the Arctic Expedition,
+1875,’ from the _Proc. Zool. Soc._, 1868, pp. 405-440.
+
+[2] _Land and Water_, August 26th, 1875.
+
+[3] Dr. Brown’s ‘Seals of Greenland,’ _Proc. Zool. Soc._, June, 1868,
+reprinted in the ‘Arctic Manual,’ p. 67.
+
+[4] ‘History of North American Pinnipeds,’ by Joel Asaph Allen. U.S.
+Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, Miscellaneous
+Publications, No. 12, Washington Government Printing Office, 1880.
+
+[5] ‘Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland,’ pp. 32-34, as quoted
+by Allen, _l. c._, pp. 551-3.
+
+[6] _Land and Water_, May 9th, 1874.
+
+[7] Great diversity of opinion, however, exists upon this point, the
+Dundee sealers considering that the fishery should open a few days
+earlier, and that a time should be fixed for its closing, in order that
+too great a number of the old Seals may not be shot. The young Seals
+grow with great rapidity, and even a few hours make a marked difference
+in their condition; it seems, therefore, of the greatest importance
+that a time should be fixed for the opening of the fishery, which will
+ensure the young animals being in as forward a condition as possible,
+and that the nursing mother should be spared. It is said, also, that,
+in consequence of the number of females killed while nursing, the old
+dog Seals are vastly more numerous than the females, and that positive
+good is accomplished by some of them being killed off. One opinion,
+however, seems universal, which is, that not much good has resulted, at
+present, from the close time.
+
+[8] The Seal of the Caspian Sea was described as a variety of _Ph.
+vitulina_, by Pallas, and as a distinct species, by Nilsson, under the
+name of _Ph. caspica_. It is, however, notwithstanding its abundance,
+very little known, and may, probably, prove to be more nearly allied to
+the next species. The yearly average of this species taken in for the
+six years ending 1872, as given by Schultz, is 130,000.
+
+[9] _Proc. Zool. Soc._, 1868, p. 402.
+
+[10] _Journal of Anatomy and Physiology_, 1870, p. 260.
+
+[11] ‘Danish Greenland, its People and its Products,’ p. 123.
+
+[12] ‘Mammalia of the Outer Hebrides,’ _Proc. Nat. Hist. Soc. Glasgow_,
+1879, p. 95.
+
+[13] _Ph. grœnlandica_ was the only Seal met with by the Austrian
+Arctic Expedition, in the _Tegethoff_ in August, 1873, the ship then
+drifting in the ice in lat. 79° 31′, long. 61° 43′. Subsequently both
+this species and _Ph. barbata_ were met with about North lat. 81°.
+
+[14] ‘Seals of Greenland.’ Reprinted in ‘_Manual and Instructions for
+the Arctic Expedition_, 1875,’ p. 47.
+
+[15] A communication in _Land and Water_ for Dec. 20, 1879, p. 524,
+signed “R. M.,” states that about the 20th of June, 1879, a Walrus was
+seen off the west coast of Skye. “He was seen lying on a rock near
+the shore, on a fine calm evening, near enough to remove all doubt as
+to the identity of the animal.... The huge tusks were quite easily
+distinguished.” On being disturbed, it is said to have rolled into the
+water, and swam a short distance to another rock, on which it was seen
+to climb; after a little time it again took to the water, and was seen
+no more. As no names are given, it is impossible to investigate this
+report, or to judge what degree of importance should be attached to it.
+
+[16] Cook’s Last Voyage, vol. ii. p. 458, edition 1784.
+
+[17] ‘Some remarks on the Nat. Hist. of Franz Josef Land,’ by H. W.
+Feilden, F.G.S., &c.--a Paper read before the Norfolk and Norwich
+Naturalists’ Society, Dec. 28, 1880.
+
+[18] _Physalus_, _Benedenia_, and _Sibbaldius_, of Gray, are now
+rejected, I believe, by Prof. Flower.
+
+[19] _Zoologist_, 1877, p. 360.
+
+[20] McCulloch’s _Dictionary of Commerce_.
+
+[21] Space will not permit of more than a passing reference here, but
+much information as to the rise and progress of the whale-fishery
+will be found in McCulloch’s ‘Dictionary of Commerce,’ article
+“Whale-fishery;” Scammon’s ‘Marine Mammals of the North-western coast
+of North America;’ Starbuck’s ‘History of the American Whale Fishery;’
+Mr. C. R. Markham’s ‘The Threshold of the Unknown Region;’ Capt. A. H.
+Markham’s book above referred to; and above all in Scoresby’s excellent
+works, which have been extensively laid under contribution by nearly
+all subsequent writers--‘An Account of the Arctic Regions, with a
+History and Description of the Northern Whale-fishery’ (2 vols., 1820),
+and ‘A Journal of a Voyage to the Northern Whale-fishery,’ in 1822.
+
+[22] Blackstone mentions a curious old feudal law, to the effect “that
+on the taking of a Whale on the coasts, which is a royal fish, it shall
+be divided between the king and queen; the head only being the king’s
+property, and the tail of it the queen’s. ‘_De Sturgione observetur,
+quod rex illum habebit integrum: de balena vero sufficit, si rex habeat
+caput, et regina caudam._’ The reason of this whimsical division, as
+assigned by our ancient records, was, to furnish the Queen’s wardrobe
+with whalebone”!--Blackstone’s ‘Commentaries,’ 1783 edit., vol. i., p.
+223.
+
+[23] Owen, ‘Anat. of Vert.,’ iii., pp. 546 and 553.
+
+[24] Dr. Brown, in the paper before quoted, states that they couple
+from June to August, and bring forth in March or April. See also a note
+on ‘The Time and Manner of the Procreation of some Species of Whales,’
+in the ‘Zoologist’ for 1845, p. 1161.
+
+[25] ‘Recent Memoirs on the Cetacea, by Professors Eschricht, Reinhardt
+and Lilljeborg,’ edited by Prof. Flower, Ray Society, 1866.
+
+[26] ‘Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist.,’ 1878 (11), p. 495.
+
+[27] ‘Bemærkninger til Norges Pattedyrfauna,’ p. 100. (Særskilt Afryk
+af ‘Nyt Mag. for Naturvsk’) 1876.
+
+[28] ‘Arctic Voyages of Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld,’ 1858-1879, pp. 51-2.
+
+[29] ‘Geographical Distribution of Mammalia,’ by Andrew Murray, 1866,
+p. 211.
+
+[30] ‘Natural History of the Sperm Whale,’ p. 28.
+
+[31] ‘Geographical Distribution of Mammalia,’ pp. 211-13.
+
+[32] ‘Transactions’ of the Zoological Society, viii., p. 203.
+
+[33] _Ibid._ x., p. 415.
+
+[34] _Ibid._, p. 435.
+
+[35] _Zoologist_, 1878, p. 319.
+
+[36] Bell’s ‘Brit. Quad.’ p. 426.
+
+[37] Collett, ‘Norges Pattedyrfauna,’ p. 99.
+
+[38] ‘Zoology of H. M. S. Challenger,’ part iv., p. 29.
+
+[39] _Proc. Zool. Soc._, 1871, pp. 41-53.
+
+[40] _Proc. Zool. Soc._, 1879, pp. 667-9 (by which Society the above
+woodcut was kindly lent).
+
+[41] Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 3rd series, vol. 17, p. 312.
+
+[42] Read before the Royal Danish Society of Sciences, in 1862.
+
+[43] Trans. Zool. Soc., vol. viii, p. 3.
+
+[44] _l. c._, p. 13.
+
+[45] _l. c._, p. 18.
+
+[46] _Trans. Zool. Soc._, vol. xi., p. 2, with plate.
+
+[47] _Trans. Zool. Soc._, vol. xi., p. 5.
+
+
+
+
+  Transcriber note
+
+
+  Spelling and punctuation errors have been corrected.
+  Corrections listed in Errata have been applied to the text.
+  Italic text has been enclosed in underscores.
+  Bold text has been enclosed in equals.
+  Smallcap text has been capitalised.
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77840 ***
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+<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77840 ***</div>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</span></p>
+
+<h1>
+THE<br>
+<br>
+SEALS AND WHALES<br>
+<br>
+OF THE<br>
+<br>
+BRITISH SEAS.
+</h1>
+
+
+<p class="center p4">
+  BY<br>
+  THOMAS SOUTHWELL, F.Z.S.
+</p>
+
+<p class="center p2" style="font-size: small;">
+  <i>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.</i>
+</p>
+
+<p class="center p4">
+  London:<br>
+  JARROLD AND SONS, 3, PATERNOSTER BUILDINGS.<br>
+  [<i>All Rights Reserved.</i>]<br>
+  1881.
+</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_ii"></a><a id="Page_iii"></a>[Pg iii]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="INTRODUCTION">
+  INTRODUCTION.
+</h2>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="r5">
+
+<p class="center p2">
+  SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS.
+</p>
+
+<hr class="r5">
+
+<p>Although at no period entirely neglected, as is apparent from the frequent reference
+to the subject by old authors, and from the known richness in species of the British Fauna,
+compared with that of the Continent of Europe, the study of the Marine Mammalia of the
+British Seas has, of late years, received more than usual attention, and the advance made in
+the knowledge of these creatures, has been rapid in proportion. Nor is it surprising that, to
+the inhabitants of a densely-peopled country like the British Isles, the terrestrial fauna of
+which must, of necessity, be very restricted and familiar, the study of the mammals frequenting
+its seas and shores should be possessed of a peculiar charm. The uncertainty and
+rarity of their occurrence, their exceptional forms, the mystery which shrouds their origin,
+heightened by the romance which surrounds the seas and high latitudes forming the
+chief home of so many species, must always render them objects of the greatest interest.
+Not only is this the case on the coast, but even in inland districts, whither—notably to
+London and Birmingham—Cetaceans have been brought, both living and dead, at great expense,
+and from long distances, to gratify the growing interest which has manifested itself,
+in these remarkable animals.</p>
+
+<p>Under these circumstances it is surprising that no modern book, especially devoted to
+this subject, exists; those who would inform themselves must search out the scattered
+records dispersed in the publications of numerous Scientific Societies, or procure works,
+which, excellent as they may be, are much more comprehensive in scope, and too expensive
+to be within the reach of many into whose hands it is hoped this little book may come: the
+author has, therefore, striven to supply what is certainly a desideratum, viz., a cheap, plain,
+but, he hopes, trustworthy treatise on the Marine Mammalia of the British Seas. Originally
+published in the form of a series of papers in the pages of <i>Science Gossip</i>, the following
+account of the “Seals and Whales found in the British Seas” has been brought down to
+the present time, and much new matter added, not the least important of which is that
+devoted to the claims of the Atlantic Right-Whale to a place in the British fauna.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</span></p>
+
+<p>Doubtless, rare specimens are often lost to science for want of identification, and all
+those interested in their study have experienced the frequent disappointment which attends
+the bare announcement of “a Whale on shore:” in many instances no attempt is made to
+determine the species, in others it is evidently wrongly-named, or, although perhaps a more
+or less elaborate description may be given, not a single feature is indicated by which it
+may be identified.</p>
+
+<p>One special object in reproducing these pages is to assist, by means of the most accurate
+figures which could be obtained, and short descriptions of the more important characters
+to be observed in each species, in determining those specimens which, from time to time,
+are landed by our fishermen, or cast dead upon the shore. Elaborate or technical descriptions
+have been carefully avoided, but short accounts of the habits and distribution, so
+far as known, of each species have been given, with the hope of interesting others in the
+study of this, even now, too-much-neglected branch of Natural History.</p>
+
+<p>To the more advanced student the numerous references may be useful for indicating the
+sources whence detailed information of a more technical character is to be obtained.</p>
+
+<p>The usefulness of this little manual, which pretends to no originality, but in the compilation
+of which no labour has been spared to insure accuracy, will, it is hoped, be greatly
+enhanced by the Illustrations; they were either engraved from original drawings, or copied
+from the most trustworthy sources (indicated in the text); several of them have since been
+adopted by the latest publications on the subject, both in England and America. For the
+use of 20 of the illustrations, out of a total of 29, the author is indebted to the kindness of
+Mr. David Bogue, who obligingly lent the blocks originally engraved for the papers in
+<i>Science Gossip</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The author has to acknowledge, with many thanks, the kind assistance afforded him by
+<span class="smcap">Mr. J. W. Clark</span>, Superintendent of the Museum of the University of Cambridge, and a
+recognized authority on the <i>Cetacea</i> and <i>Pinnipedia</i>. He, also, has to record the services,
+in behalf of this little work, rendered by one, who, beloved and lamented by many friends,
+has passed away since it has been in the press—the late <span class="smcap">Mr. Edward Richard Alston</span>.
+The wound inflicted by the early death of that amiable and promising naturalist is too fresh
+to admit of further reference.</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p><i>Norwich, March 1881.</i></p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="INDEX">
+  INDEX.
+</h2>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="r5">
+
+<ul class="index">
+  <li class="right" style="font-size: small;">PAGE.</li>
+
+  <li class="ifrst">Atlantic Right-Whale, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li>
+
+
+  <li class="ifrst"><i>Balæna biscayensis</i>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>mysticetus</i>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx"><i>Balænoptera boops</i>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>borealis</i> (Note), <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>laticeps</i>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>musculus</i>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>rostrata</i>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>sibbaldii</i>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">Beaked Whale, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">Beluga ”, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">Bottle-head ”, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">Bottle-nose Dolphin, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">Broad-fronted Beaked Whale, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li>
+
+
+  <li class="ifrst">Cachelot, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">Cetacea, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">Cuvier’s Whale, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx"><i>Cystophora cristata</i>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li>
+
+
+  <li class="ifrst"><i>Delphinapterus leucas</i>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx"><i>Delphinus acutus</i>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>albirostris</i>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>deductor</i>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>delphis</i>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>globiceps</i>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>melas</i>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>phocœna</i>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>tursio</i>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">Dolphin, Bottle-nosed, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Common, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Risso’s, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” White-beaked, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” White-sided, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li>
+
+
+  <li class="ifrst"><i>Epiodon desmarestii</i>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li>
+
+
+  <li class="ifrst"><i>Globicephalus melas</i>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">Grampus, Common, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Risso’s, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx"><i>Grampus cuvieri</i>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>griseus</i>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">Greenland Right-Whale, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li>
+
+
+  <li class="ifrst"><i>Halichœrus gryphus</i>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">Hump-backed Whale, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx"><i>Hyperoodon butzkopf</i>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>latifrons</i>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>rostratum</i>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li>
+
+
+  <li class="ifrst"><i>Lagenorhynchus acutus</i>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>albirostris</i>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li>
+
+
+  <li class="ifrst"><i>Megaptera longimana</i>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx"><i>Mesoplodon sowerbiensis</i>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx"><i>Monodon monoceros</i>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">Mystacoceti, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li>
+
+
+  <li class="ifrst">Narwhal, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li>
+
+
+  <li class="ifrst">Odontoceti, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx"><i>Orca gladiator</i>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li>
+
+
+  <li class="ifrst"><i>Phoca baikalensis</i>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>discolor</i>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>grœnlandica</i>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>hispida</i>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>vitulina</i>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx"><i>Phocœna communis</i>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx"><i>Physalus antiquorum</i>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” <i>latirostris</i>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx"><i>Physeter macrocephalus</i>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</span>Pilot Whale, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">Pinnipedia, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">Porpoise, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx"><i>Pseudorca crassidens</i>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li>
+
+
+  <li class="ifrst">Risso’s Grampus, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">Rorqual, Common, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Lesser, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Rudolphi’s, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">”  ”  (Note), <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Sibbald’s, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx"><i>Rorqualus minor</i>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li>
+
+
+  <li class="ifrst">Seal, Common, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Greenland, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Grey, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Hooded, or Bladder-nosed, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Ringed, or Marbled, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx"><i>Sibbaldius borealis</i>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">Sowerby’s Whale, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">Sperm Whale, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li>
+
+
+  <li class="ifrst"><i>Trichechus rosmarus</i>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx"><i>Tursio truncatus</i>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li>
+
+
+  <li class="ifrst">Walrus, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">Whale, Atlantic Right, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Beaked, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Bottle-head, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Broad-fronted, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Cuvier’s, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Greenland Right, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Humpbacked, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Pilot, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Sowerby’s, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” Sperm, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">” White, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">White-sided Dolphin, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx">White-beaked Dolphin, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li>
+
+
+  <li class="ifrst">Ziphioid Whales, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li>
+
+  <li class="indx"><i>Ziphius cavirostris</i>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p class="center p4">
+  ERRATA.
+</p>
+
+<table class="autotable">
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">Page 77,</td>
+<td class="tdl">bottom line, for <i>Physalis</i> read <i>Physalus</i>.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">” 126,</td>
+<td class="tdl">for <i>alberostris</i> read <i>albirostris</i>.</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="ILLUSTRATIONS">
+  LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+</h2>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="r5">
+
+<table class="autotable">
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdr" style="font-size: small;">PAGE.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"><i>Figure</i></td>
+<td class="tdl"> 1.—<span class="smcap">Hind Flippers of Ringed Seal</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_2">2</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 2.—<span class="smcap">Skeleton of Seal</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_12">12</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 3.—<span class="smcap">Ringed or Marbled Seal</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_15">15</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 4.—<span class="smcap">Greenland Seal</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_20">20</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 5.—<span class="smcap">Hooded Seal</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 6.—<span class="smcap">Grey Seal</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 7.—<span class="smcap">Walrus</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 8.—<i>Vacca Marina</i></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 9.—<span class="smcap">Head of Walrus</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_39">39</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 10.—<span class="smcap">Sea Horse</span> (after Cook)</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_41">41</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 11.—<span class="smcap">Section of Skull of Whalebone Whale</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_46">46</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 12.—<span class="smcap">Greenland Right-Whale</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 13.—<span class="smcap">Atlantic Right-Whale</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 14.—<span class="smcap">Common Rorqual</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_71">71</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 15.—<span class="smcap">Lesser Rorqual</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_80">80</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 16.—<span class="smcap">Sperm Whale</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 17.—<span class="smcap">Chair in Great Yarmouth Church</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 18.—<span class="smcap">Back View of ditto, ditto</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 19.—<span class="smcap">Skeleton of Sperm Whale</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 20.—<span class="smcap">Skull of Ditto</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_90">90</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 21.—<span class="smcap">Head of Sowerby’s Whale</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_104">104</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 22.—<span class="smcap">Beluga, caught by the tail</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 23.—<span class="smcap">Grampus</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_112">112</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 24.—<i>Pseudorca crassidens</i></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 25.—<span class="smcap">Risso’s Dolphin</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_116">116</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 26.—<span class="smcap">Pilot Whale</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_118">118</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 27.—<span class="smcap">Common Dolphin</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 28.—<span class="smcap">Bottle-nosed Dolphin</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_124">124</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"> 29.—<span class="smcap">White-beaked Dolphin</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_126">126</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="r5">
+
+<table class="autotable">
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">Table of</span></td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">British Cetacea</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_48">48</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">”</td>
+<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Differences of British Mystacoceti</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_viii"></a><a id="Page_1"></a>[Pg 1]</span></p>
+
+<p class="center p4" style="font-size: large;">
+<span class="smcap">Seals and Whales</span>
+</p>
+<p class="center" style="font-size: small;font-weight: bold;">
+OF THE
+</p>
+<p class="center" style="font-weight: bold;">
+BRITISH SEAS.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="r5">
+
+<p>The two great groups of Marine Mammals known as <i>Pinnipedia</i> and
+<i>Cetacea</i>, although widely separated from each other zoologically, naturally
+present themselves to us side by side as inhabiting the same regions; the
+facilities for studying the one are also equally favourable for obtaining a
+knowledge of the other. It is remarkable that in few groups of the animal
+world, until recently, has so much confusion existed as in the Seals and
+Whales. This has, of late years, through the labours of European and
+American naturalists, to some extent been remedied, although very much
+still remains to be done, the literature of the subject being still so scattered,
+that much of it is inaccessible to the ordinary student. The arrangement and
+nomenclature adopted in the following short account of the Seals and Whales
+inhabiting or occurring in the seas, or on the shores, surrounding the British
+Islands, is that used by Mr. Alston in the second edition of Bell’s ‘British
+Quadrupeds.’</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="PINNIPEDIA">
+  PINNIPEDIA.
+</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>The <i>Pinnipedia</i> (fin-footed) forms a well-marked sub-order of the Carnivora,
+and may be divided into three distinct families—the <i>Phocidæ</i>, or true
+Seals; the <i>Trichechidæ</i>, represented by one species only—the Walrus; and the
+<i>Otariidæ</i>, or Eared Seals.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p002" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p002.jpg" alt="Hind Flippers of Ringed Seal">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 1. <span class="smcap">Hind Flippers of Ringed Seal</span> (<i>after Murie</i>).</p>
+      <p><b>A</b>, opened out; <b>B</b>, closed.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The <i>Phocidæ</i> are found both in the Northern and Southern hemispheres,
+most plentifully in the cold regions, but extending into the temperate seas;
+in the Northern hemisphere they are found as far south as 40° N. latitude;
+two species, however, are said to be sub-tropical. The true Seals may readily
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</span>be distinguished by the absence of external ears, and the position of the
+posterior limbs, which are not adapted for progression on land, but admirably
+suited for propelling the animal through the element in which it obtains its
+sustenance. These limbs are directed backwards, and compressed laterally,
+the soles of the flippers being turned inwards, and are only free from the
+ankle-joints. (Fig. 1). Like the whole group, the Seals are carnivorous. Five
+species are believed to have occurred on our shores.</p>
+
+<p>The family of <i>Trichechidæ</i> is limited to one genus, and that consisting of
+only one species, the Walrus or Morse, which is essentially Arctic in its
+habitat, and on our coasts can only be regarded as a very rare and accidental
+straggler; in this animal there is no external ear; its limbs are adapted
+for raising the body from the ground, thus enabling it to progress by their
+means upon dry land.</p>
+
+<p>The third family, <i>Otariidæ</i>, consists of several genera and species (according
+to Gray); they are distinguished from both <i>Phocidæ</i> and <i>Trichechus</i> by the
+presence of external ear-conchs, and from the former by the structure of their
+limbs, which are free and adapted for progression upon land, where at a
+certain season they take up their abode for a considerable period. Dr.
+Pettigrew also points out that the fore-feet are hardly used by the true
+Seals as means of propulsion in the water, whereas in the Eared Seals they
+form the chief organs used for that purpose, and in the Walrus all four
+limbs are employed. The Eared Seals inhabit the lonely shores and islands
+of the Pacific Ocean and South Seas, where they are hunted for their
+skins; the beautiful “seal-skin” of commerce, so much prized for its lustre
+and softness, being the dyed and prepared under-fur of some members of
+this family. The <i>Otariidæ</i> are not represented in our fauna.</p>
+
+<p>The true Seals spend most of their time in the water, but visit the
+shore or ice to bask in the sun or bring forth their young; this last takes
+place early in the summer, and it is seldom that more than one is produced
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</span>at a birth. Some species enter the water almost immediately after
+birth, but others are two or three weeks before they leave the ice, quitting it
+at first very unwillingly, but soon becoming expert at swimming and diving.
+The power of the Seal to remain beneath the water for lengthened periods Dr.
+Wallace&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_1_1" href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> believes to be acquired rather than structural. Their food consists
+of crustacea and fish, with an occasional sea-bird. Some species are migratory
+in their habits. In disposition they are usually timid and gentle, and capable of
+attachment, when in confinement, to those who feed and attend them. The
+Bladder-nose and Grey Seals, however, appear to be exceptions to this rule;
+the former is said to be fierce and vindictive, rather courting than fleeing from
+danger, and altogether a formidable opponent. Their great affection for their
+young is made use of by the sealers for their destruction.</p>
+
+<p>Although Seals are not found in sufficient numbers round our own coast to
+be of any commercial value, in the Northern Seas, where they congregate in
+vast numbers at the breeding season, the seal-fishery is of great importance as
+a branch of industry, and finds employment for a large number of vessels and
+men, both from this country and from the ports of Northern Europe. In the
+Greenland seal-fishery the Norwegian whalers had in 1874 sixteen steamers
+and nineteen sailing-ships, with an aggregate tonnage of 9,000 tons, manned
+by 1,600 sailors, and in the three years ending 1874 they killed 142,500 young
+Seals and 128,000 old ones, notwithstanding which the balance-sheet of the
+three years showed only a small profit on the steamers and a large loss on the
+sailing vessels.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_2_2" href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> An official return issued by Messrs. David Bruce and Co., of
+Dundee, shows that in the season of 1879, eleven Dundee ships and five from
+Peterhead, were engaged in the Greenland seal-trade; the total catch of these
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</span>sixteen ships was 35,044 Seals; four ships from Dundee visited Newfoundland
+and captured 70,355 Seals, making a total for the British ships alone of 105,399
+Seals, exclusive of those wounded and lost, or otherwise destroyed. These produced
+1280 tons of oil, worth about £25 per ton, or £32,000, exclusive of skins,
+which sell for about 5s. each. The majority of the Norwegian vessels also
+bring their cargoes to this country. Captain David Gray informs me that
+the seal-fishery was commenced from the Port of Peterhead, in the year 1819,
+since which time to the close of the season of 1879, the large number of
+1,673,052 Seals have been taken by the vessels belonging to that port.
+The Dundee vessels did not take part in the seal-fishery till the year 1860,
+but have from that time to 1879 taken 917,278 Seals. This total is greatly
+swollen by the results of the Newfoundland fishery; four Dundee vessels
+in 1879 took 70,355 Seals in Newfoundland, whereas, in the same season,
+eleven Dundee and five Peterhead vessels took only 35,044 Seals in the
+Greenland fishery. The Dundee ships, after the Newfoundland fishery is
+ended, generally land their oil and skins at St. John’s, and proceed on their
+whaling voyage to Greenland and Davis’ Straits.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Wallace&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_3_3" href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> estimates the annual produce of the Greenland Seal-fishery
+alone at the sum of £116,000; the bulk of the seals taken are the Harp Seal
+(<i>Phoca grœnlandica</i>).</p>
+
+<p>Several attempts had been made to establish a seal-fishery at Newfoundland,
+from the port of Dundee, but with small success till the year 1876: in
+that year Messrs. Alexander Stephen and Son secured premises at St. John’s,
+and sent out two vessels to be manned chiefly by a Newfoundland crew;
+the result was a great success, and this firm has since prosecuted the fishing
+with very satisfactory results. The Dundee Seal and Whale Fishing Company
+have also three steamers in the trade, in addition to those engaged at
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</span>the Greenland fishery. Mr. David Bruce, of Dundee, to whom I am indebted
+for the above particulars, informs me that the season of 1880 was a failure
+in the Newfoundland fishery, and that out of a fleet of twenty-four steamers,
+not more than six of them would pay their expenses.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. J. A. Allen&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_4_4" href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> gives an interesting account of the rise and progress of
+the Newfoundland fishery, which he characterises as “the sealing-ground,
+<i>par excellence</i>, of the world, twice as many Seals being taken here by the
+Newfoundland fleet alone as by the combined sealing-fleets of Great Britain,
+Germany, and Norway, in the icy seas about Jan Mayen, or the so-called
+‘Greenland Sea’ of the whalemen and sealers.” So early as 1721,
+thousands of “sea-wolves” were killed in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but,
+according to Mr. Michael Carroll, of Bonavista, Newfoundland, in his account
+of the ‘Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland,’ published in 1873, as
+quoted by Mr. Allen, it was not till the year 1763 that the seal-fishery was
+regularly prosecuted there by vessels specially equipped for the purpose.
+The trade, however, rapidly assumed importance, and in 1807 thirty vessels
+from Newfoundland alone were engaged in it. In 1834 the Newfoundland
+fleet had increased to three hundred and seventy-five, besides a considerable
+number of vessels from Nova Scotia and the Magdalen Islands; in 1857 the
+number of vessels employed appears to have reached its maximum, exceeding
+three hundred and seventy, whilst the catch of Seals was estimated at 500,000.
+About the year 1866, steamships were first introduced, and have ever since
+been increasingly employed; the result has been a steady decrease in the
+number of vessels, which, in 1871, were reduced to one hundred and forty-six
+sailing vessels and fifteen steamers, or less than one-half, but the number of
+Seals taken annually, up to 1873, appears to have remained about the same,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span>and, notwithstanding the enormous destruction of these creatures, which takes
+place every season on the Newfoundland sealing grounds, many thousands of
+which, from the wasteful methods employed in their capture, are never
+accounted for, Mr. Carroll is still of opinion that up to the year 1873, their
+numbers were actually on the increase: this can hardly continue much longer
+to be the case.</p>
+
+<p>I will only mention one of the methods employed by the Newfoundland
+sealers, which must eventually be attended with the most disastrous effects.
+This mode is technically called “panning.” Mr. Carroll, writing in 1871
+says, “No greater injury can possibly be done to the seal-fishery than that of
+bulking Seals on pans of ice by crews of ice-hunters. Thousands of Seals
+are killed and bulked, and never seen afterwards. When the men come up
+with a large number of old and young Seals, that cannot get into the water,
+owing to the ice being in one solid jam, they drive them together, selecting a
+pan surrounded with rafted ice, on which thousands of Seals are placed one
+over the other, perhaps fifteen feet deep. A certain number of men is picked
+out by the ship-master to pelt and put on board the bulked Seals, whilst
+other men are sent to kill more. It often happens that the men are obliged
+to go from one to ten miles, before they come up with the Seals again, and
+very often the men pile from five hundred to two thousand in each bulk,
+which bulks are from one to two miles apart; care is also taken that flags are
+stuck up as a guide to direct the men where to find such bulked Seals. So
+uncertain is the weather, and precarious the shifting about of the ice, as well
+as heavy falls of snow and drift, that very often such bulked Seals are never
+seen again by the men that killed and bulked them, as the vessels and steamships
+are frequently driven by gales of wind far out of sight or reach of them,
+and frequently wheeled or driven into another spot, when the men again
+commence killing and bulking as before. In many instances it has happened
+that the crews of vessels, as well as the crews of steamships, have killed and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span>bulked twice their load. No doubt Seals that are bulked are often picked
+up by the crews of other vessels, but such is the law, that as long as the flags
+are erected upon the bulks, and the vessel or steamship is in sight, no man
+can take them, notwithstanding the vessel’s or steamship’s men that bulked
+them may be ten miles away from them, whilst another vessel may be driven
+within a quarter of a mile of thousands of bulked Seals, but, owing to the
+law, dare not take them.” The skins, if left, are also liable to injury by the
+frost or sun, or by the capsizing of the pan they may be totally lost. In the
+spring of 1872, some five thousand Seals, obtained to the westward of Bonavista,
+by the inhabitants of that place, were heaped upon the ice. “There
+were thirteen flags to be seen in the morning over bulked Seals, and when the
+drift ice struck the land in the evening, only six of the flags were visible, the
+ice having rafted over both flags and Seals. Some days after, when the ice
+moved off from the shore, several bulks of Seals were found, but in such a
+putrid state that they could not be handled.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_5_5" href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> Comment upon the consequences
+which must speedily result from such lamentable waste of life is
+needless.</p>
+
+<p>Nor, until very recently, was the seal-fishery in the Greenland Seas
+prosecuted with any greater regard to humanity or economy. “Supposing
+the sealing prosecuted with the same vigour as at present,” says Dr. Brown,
+“I have little hesitation in stating that before thirty years shall have passed
+away, the seal-fishery, as a source of commercial revenue, will have come to
+a close, and the progeny of the immense number of Seals now swimming
+about in Greenland waters will number but comparatively few.” Dr. Brown’s
+remarks were written in the year 1868, and the prediction is already virtually
+fulfilled: a report, giving an account of the success of the Dundee vessels
+employed in the Newfoundland seal-fishery in 1877, after stating that 39,000
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span>Seals were said to have been captured by two vessels, concludes thus:—“Previously
+all Dundee vessels were employed at the <i>Greenland</i> seal-fishing,
+but Captain Adams has for some years been of opinion that <i>that ground
+is practically used up</i>, and hence his visit to Newfoundland.”</p>
+
+<p>I will spare the reader, as much as possible, a repetition of the horrors of
+this cruel trade, and make only a single quotation from a letter written by an
+old and experienced sealer, Captain David Gray, of the steamship <i>Eclipse</i>.
+He says that five ships in 1873 shot among the old Seals for four days
+until the pack was utterly ruined. “I suppose,” he continues, “about
+10,000 old Seals had been taken. Add 20 per cent. for Seals mortally
+wounded and lost, gives an aggregate of 12,000 old ones; add 12,000 young
+ones which died of starvation (their parents being killed before the young
+ones were of any value or able to shift for themselves), gives 24,000 ... The
+whole of the young brood was destroyed, and had these Seals been
+left alone for eight or ten days, I am quite within the mark when I say
+that, instead of only taking 300 tons of oil out of them, 1,500 could as
+easily have been got, and that without touching an old one.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_6_6" href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> So great
+are the cruelties perpetrated by the crews of the sealers, that even the men
+themselves, hardened as they are, sicken at the work, and cry shame that
+the law does not put a stop to them. Let anybody who cares to know
+what fearful cruelties man is capable of perpetrating for gain, read Captain
+Gray’s letter. As a remedy for this waste of life (of course its cruelties can
+only be modified) Captain Gray suggested that the ships should be kept
+from sailing before the 25th of March, about a month later than they then
+started; they would then not reach the fishery and find the young Seals
+until they were sufficiently grown to be worth killing, and the frightful waste
+of life which occurred from the destruction of the old Seals before the young
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span>ones were able to shift for themselves, resulting in the death from starvation
+of the whole brood, thus be put a stop to.</p>
+
+<p>With this object in view, an Act was passed in 1875, in which the Foreign
+States interested concurred, prohibiting the killing of the Seals before the 3rd
+of April in each year; from some misunderstanding this Act was not enforced
+in the season of 1876, but in 1877 it was rigidly observed by the ships of all
+nations engaged in the fishery. The result of the season’s fishing was very
+unsatisfactory, owing to the absence of the large bodies of Seals which formerly
+were met with. Captain Gray, after three years’ experience of the operation of
+this Act, considers that the fishing still opens too early,&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_7_7" href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> and that an additional
+three days are necessary to enable the young Seals to arrive at their best, and
+prevent the useless slaughter of the old ones, which are getting thin from
+being suckled. He is of opinion that, since the introduction of the close time,
+the Greenland Seals are not diminishing quite so rapidly as they were, but
+that the restriction has not been in operation long enough to form a very
+accurate opinion.</p>
+
+<p>The Walrus is even more rapidly and surely becoming exterminated than
+the Seal; it has become extinct from station after station, and but for its
+ice-loving habits, which render its present strongholds always difficult and
+sometimes impossible of access, it would now probably, like Steller’s Rhytina,
+have to be spoken of in the past tense.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span></p>
+
+
+<h3>THE COMMON SEAL.</h3>
+
+<p>This species, <i>Phoca vitulina</i>, of Linnæus, is, <i>par excellence</i>, the <span class="smcap">Common
+Seal</span> of the British waters. It is found, although in greatly reduced numbers,
+on unfrequented shores and sands, from the Orkney and Shetland Islands,
+where it most abounds, to Cornwall, occasionally ascending estuaries and rivers
+for a considerable distance, but never quitting the immediate vicinity of the
+water. According to Bell, it occurs on both sides the North Atlantic, and is
+common in Spitzbergen, Greenland, and Davis’s Straits; also Northern
+Russia, Scandinavia, Holland, and France, and is said to occur occasionally
+in the Mediterranean.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_8_8" href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> It figures largely in the returns of the Danish and
+Greenland fishery, where the number killed annually of this species and <i>Ph.
+hispida</i> is estimated by Dr. Brown at about 70,000.</p>
+
+<p>Low, who died in 1795, says in the ‘Fauna Oncadensis,’ “A ship
+commonly goes from this place once a-year to Soliskerry, and seldom returns
+without 200 or 300 Seals;” these they killed by landing on the rock, and
+knocking them on the head. He also says that in North Ronaldsha they
+take them for the purpose of eating, and that the inhabitants say “they make
+good ham.” Though at present far less numerous than formerly, it is still
+abundant in the unfrequented bays and sounds of the Orkney and Shetland
+Islands; also, on the Hebrides. On the mainland, Mr. Alston (‘Fauna of
+Scot.’ <i>Proc. Glasgow Nat. Hist. Soc.</i>) says it is found in all localities where
+it is free from intrusion, especially on the North and West shores; it is
+also common on some parts of the Irish Coast. In Wales it is not uncommon,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span>and on the Cornish, and some few other favoured localities of the
+English coast it is still well known; on other parts of our shores it is
+decidedly rare. In the great estuary between the Norfolk and Lincolnshire
+coasts, called the “Wash,” this species frequents the sand-banks left
+dry at low water, and, doubtless, many young ones are produced there
+annually. At birth, which takes place about the month of June, the young
+Seal is covered with a coat of white woolly hair, which is shed in parturition,
+or shortly after, and the young one takes to the water when only a few hours
+old. Mr. Bartlett gives an account of the birth of a young one (at the time
+believed to be <i>Ph. hispida</i>) in the Zoological Gardens,&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_9_9" href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> and states that it
+completely divested itself of its coat of fur and hair in a few minutes, and
+was swimming and diving about within three hours of its birth; its mother
+turned on her side to let it suck, and its voice was a low, soft “ba.” The
+first coat is not shed so quickly in some species, nor do they all take to the
+water at so early an age; as, for example, <i>Ph. grœnlandica</i>, which is two or
+three weeks before it leaves the ice.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p012" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p012.jpg" alt="Skeleton of Seal.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 2. <span class="smcap">Skeleton of Seal.</span></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span></p>
+
+<p>The total length of the adult is about 4 to 5 feet, and its coat is generally
+of a yellowish colour, thickly spotted with black on the back and upper parts,
+but less distinctly so on the sides. The under parts are a bright silvery hue;
+there is, however, considerable variety in colour and in the distinctness of the
+spots. This species is readily domesticated, and displays great intelligence, and
+even affection for those who feed and tend it. Almost everybody must have
+been struck with the docility displayed by the Seals which are occasionally exhibited
+as “talking fish.” At the Zoological Gardens and at the Brighton and
+other Aquaria, where they are a never-failing source of attraction, their graceful
+movements in their confined homes cannot fail to excite admiration. Swimming
+silently and swiftly along, the animal threads with the greatest accuracy
+the intricacies of its narrow pond, assuming every possible attitude, and
+turning over and over in its course, as much at ease when swimming on its
+back as in its usual position. When, tired with this exercise, it comes to the
+edge of its pond and raises itself out of the water, its rounded head, and
+bright, full black eyes have something almost human in their expression, and
+the fabled “mermaid” seems a reality; but when once it leaves the water, it
+is clearly seen that it is no longer in the element in which it is destined to
+live and move, for its motions are laboured and awkward in the extreme. It
+throws itself along, first on one side and then on the other, just as a man
+tightly sewn in a sack would do, but, notwithstanding its clumsiness, contrives
+to make considerable progress.</p>
+
+<p>This species may be distinguished by the arrangement of its molar teeth,
+which are placed obliquely along either side of the jaw, not in a line with
+each other. It has been said that this is only a characteristic of youth, and
+that the peculiar arrangement disappears “before the skull attains its
+maximum size.” In the second edition of Bell’s ‘Quadrupeds,’ however,
+the authors express their belief that “it will be found a characteristic of all
+ages, although certainly more marked in the young than in very old animals.”
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span>Dr. Brown says that the Greenland Seal (<i>Ph. grœnlandica</i>) in its second coat
+has often been mistaken for this species, but that the former may readily be
+distinguished by its having the second toe of the fore flipper the longest. The
+hair next the skin is short and woolly, but externally harsh and shining,
+admirably adapted for repelling the water in which the animal passes so much
+of its time; the whiskers with which the upper lip is furnished, are thick,
+flattened hairs, laterally compressed, presenting diamond-shaped inequalities:
+this form of bristle is found in all the British Seals, whereas <i>Phoca barbata</i>,
+a species shortly to be mentioned as of doubtful occurrence on our coast, has
+the bristles compressed, but smooth. The food of the Common Seal consists
+of fish and crustacea.</p>
+
+
+<h4>THE RINGED, OR MARBLED SEAL.</h4>
+
+<p>The only recorded instance of the occurrence of the <span class="smcap">Ringed Seal</span>,
+<i>Phoca hispida</i>, of Schreber, on the British coast, is that of an individual
+captured on the Norfolk coast, in June, 1846, and purchased by Mr.
+J. H. Gurney, in the flesh, in the Norwich fish-market, the skull of which
+is now in the Museum of that city. Although no other instance of its
+occurrence is on record, it seems not improbable that it may occasionally be
+met with, and pass unrecognized. In the first volume of the ‘Magazine of
+Zoology and Botany,’ Mr. Wilson, in a paper on the Scottish Seals, speaks of
+a small Seal which was sometimes seen in the Hebrides, and believed by the
+natives to be a distinct species: this was rendered probable by their not
+associating with the Common Seals, and not being so wild in their nature.
+It is thought that this small Seal may have been <i>Ph. hispida</i>. Small
+dark-coloured Seals have more than once been seen on the Norfolk and
+Lincolnshire coast, or exhibited in the towns, which it is quite possible also
+may have belonged to this species. That it inhabited the coast of Scotland
+in the past, there is evidence in the abundance of the remains of this species
+found in the glacial clays of that country, as identified by Professor Turner.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_10_10" href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p015" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p015.jpg" alt="Ringed Seal">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 3. <span class="smcap">Ringed Seal</span> (<i>Phoca hispida</i>).</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a><a id="Page_17"></a>[Pg 17]</span></p>
+
+<p>The small Seal found in the inland fresh-waters of Lake Baikal is believed
+to be a variety of this species, differing only in its darker colour; it has,
+however, been separated, under the name of <i>Ph. baikalensis</i> by M. Dybowski
+(<i>Arch. f. Anat. u. Phys.</i>, 1873, p. 109). The type of <i>Ph. discolor</i>, F. Cuv.,
+was taken in the Channel, and, according to De Sélys-Longchamps, this
+species has also occurred on the Belgian coast.</p>
+
+<p>At present its home is the high latitudes of the Arctic seas, especially
+parallels 76 and 77 deg. North, and many are killed in South Greenland.
+In Davis’s Straits it is found all the year round, particularly up the ice-fjords;
+in Cumberland Gulf it is said to be by far the most common
+Seal, and forms the principal food of the Esquimaux. This was the
+only species found by the late Arctic expedition north of Cape Union,
+82° 15′ N. lat. Captain Feilden, the Naturalist to Sir G. Nares’ Arctic
+Expedition, in an account of the ‘Mammalia of North Greenland and
+Grinnell Land’ (<i>Zoologist</i>, 1877, p. 359), thus speaks of this species:—“The
+Ringed Seal was met with in most of the bays we entered during our passage
+up and down Smith Sound. It was the only species seen north of Cape
+Union, and which penetrates into the Polar Sea. Lieutenant Aldrich, R.N.,
+during his autumn sledging, in 1875, noticed a single example in a pool of
+water near Cape Joseph Henry, and a party which I accompanied in
+September, 1875, secured one in Dumbell Harbour, some miles north of the
+winter quarters of the “Alert”: its stomach contained remains of crustaceans
+and annelids. In June of the following year I observed three or four of these
+animals on the ice of Dumbell Harbour. They had made holes in the bay
+ice that had formed in this protected inlet. The polar pack was at this
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span>time of the year firmly wedged against the shores of Grinnell Land, and so
+tightly packed in Robeson Channel that no Seal could by any possibility
+have worked its way into this inlet from outside. I am, therefore, quite
+satisfied that <i>Phoca hispida</i> is resident throughout the year in the localities
+mentioned. A female killed on the 23rd August, 1876, weighed 65 lbs.”
+This species has, therefore, probably the most northerly habitat of any
+existing mammal.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Brown, in his paper on the ‘Greenland Seals’ (<i>Proc. Zool. Soc.</i>,
+June, 1868,) gives an interesting account of this species, which, like the
+preceding, is littoral in its habits, seldom frequenting the open sea, but
+found generally in the neighbourhood of the coast ice, in retired situations.
+It is known by the whalers as the “Floe rat,” and its food consists of
+various species of crustacea and small fishes. This is the smallest of the
+Northern Seals, and of very little commercial value: its flesh, however, is
+eaten, and its skin forms the chief material of clothing in Greenland.</p>
+
+<p>In appearance, this species is very like the Common Seal; but it is darker
+in colour, more particularly on the back, and the spots in the adult are
+surrounded by oval-shaped whitish rings; the young ones are lighter in
+colour. The old male is said to emit a most disgusting smell: hence one of
+its specific names, “fœtida.” Dr. Rink says that this unpleasant odour is
+more developed in those which are captured in the interior ice-fjords, “which
+are also, on an average perhaps, twice as large as those generally occurring
+off the outer shores. When brought into the hut, and cut up on its floor,
+such a Seal emits a smell resembling something between that of assafœtida
+and onions, almost insupportable to strangers. This peculiarity is not noticeable
+in the younger specimens, or those of a smaller size, such as are generally
+caught, and at all events the smell does not detract from the utility of the
+flesh over the whole of Greenland.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_11_11" href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a><a id="Page_20"></a>[Pg 20]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p020" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p020.jpg" alt="Greenland Seal">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 4. <span class="smcap">Greenland Seal</span> (<i>Phoca grœnlandica</i>).</p>
+      <p>Adult and Immature.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span></p>
+
+<p>The molar teeth in this species are arranged in a straight line along
+the jaws, and not obliquely, as in the common species. As this Seal is
+very likely to pass unnoticed, should it occur on our coast, it will be
+well to bear in mind that this arrangement of the molars will at once
+distinguish it from <i>Ph. vitulina</i>, the only species with which it is likely to be
+confounded. Professor Flower has given a minute description of the skull of
+the Norfolk specimen in the ‘<i>Proc. Zool. Soc.</i>’ for 1871, pp. 506-12. The
+figure of this species is copied from Karl Thorin’s ‘Grundlinier Zoologiens
+Studium,’ p. 53 (Stockholm, 1868).</p>
+
+
+<h5>THE GREENLAND SEAL.</h5>
+
+<p>The claims of the <span class="smcap">Greenland Seal</span>, <i>Phoca grœnlandica</i> (Fab.), to a
+place in the British Fauna, although long considered highly probable, were
+not rendered perfectly conclusive until 1874, when they were satisfactorily
+established by Professor Turner’s identification of a Seal killed in
+January, 1868, near the viaduct on the Lancaster and Ulverstone Railway,
+and now preserved in the Kendal Museum. Professor Turner (‘<i>Journal
+of Anatomy and Physiology</i>,’ vol. ix. p. 163) says that he has himself
+examined this specimen, and found the dentition exactly to agree with
+that of the skulls of the Greenland Seals with which he compared it. The
+individual in question, a male, measured six feet from the tip of the nose
+to the “point of the hind toes,” and the colour indicated the age to be about
+three years. Previously to this, the claims of this species to a place in our
+list rested principally upon the skulls of two Seals killed in the Severn, and
+exhibited by Dr. Reilly at the meeting of the British Association at Bristol
+in 1836. These skulls were at first referred by Professor Nilsson to <i>Ph.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span>hispida</i>, but afterwards, both by that gentleman and Professor Bell, determined
+to belong to <i>Ph. grœnlandica</i>. Doubts having been thrown on the
+accuracy of this decision, Professor Bell, in the second edition of his ‘British
+Quadrupeds’ p. 253, again states his belief that he was correct in assigning
+them to the young of this species. These specimens are unfortunately lost.
+Several supposed cases of the occurrence of this species are recorded, but in no
+instance were they supported by the production of the animal itself. Dr.
+Saxby (‘<i>Zool.</i>’ 1864) says that this Seal is not rare in bad weather in the
+Voe of Baltasound, Shetland; and Mr. H. Evans, of Darnley Abbey, Derbyshire,
+in the year 1856, shot what he believes to have been a Greenland
+Seal near Roundstone, county Galway,—“Unfortunately, the animal sank
+and was lost; but Mr. Evans, who is well acquainted with the common
+and grey species, is perfectly certain that it was quite different from
+either” (Bell, 2 edit., p. 254). Perhaps the best authenticated case of
+the supposed occurrence of this species on our shores is given by Mr. H. D.
+Graham in Part I., vol. i. of the ‘Proceedings of the Nat. Hist. Society of
+Glasgow,’ p. 53 (Feb. 24, 1863). Three large white Seals were seen by Mr.
+Graham in Loch Tabert, Jura, Western Isles, lying on some shelving rocks,
+about 300 or 400 yards from the shore. They were watched through an
+excellent deer-stalking telescope for three hours, and Mr. Graham states that
+the characteristic markings of the Harp Seal could be distinctly seen. He
+also believes that, in three authentic instances, captures of <i>white</i> Seals, of
+extraordinary size, had been made, and states some particulars of the habits
+and appearance of these animals, as communicated to him by the islanders—to
+whom they appear to have been well known,—which render it highly
+probable that they belonged to this species. Mr. J. A. Harvie-Brown&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_12_12" href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> also
+saw four Seals, which he believes to have been of this species, on a rock in
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span>the Sound of Harris, on May 2nd, 1870. They took to the water, but as
+they “kept close in, and often rushed past within a few feet” of where he
+and his companion were standing, they had an excellent view of them, and
+“the large splashy-looking dark marks on either side of the back” were
+distinctly visible. Although essentially an Arctic species, this animal has a
+very wide geographical range, which, added to its migratory habits, renders
+it not at all improbable that individuals occasionally wander to our shores.</p>
+
+<p>This species is a native of the Arctic Ocean, and ranges from the N.E.
+coast of America to the Kara Sea (where it was found by the Swedish Arctic
+Expedition in 1875), changing its quarters according to season.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_13_13" href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> It is this
+species which constitutes the chief object of pursuit in the northern Seal-fishery,
+and the season chosen for the attack is when they visit the ice for
+the purpose of producing their young ones. Dr. Brown says, “They take
+to the ice, to bring forth their young, generally between the middle of March
+and the middle of April, according to the state of the season, &amp;c., the most
+common time being about the end of March. At this time they can be seen
+literally covering the frozen waste, with the aid of a telescope, from the
+‘crow’s-nest,’ at the main royal mast-head, and have on such occasions been
+calculated to number upwards of half a million of males and females.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_14_14" href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> The
+young, when born, are pure white, which changes to a yellow tint. At about
+14 days old they begin to take to the water, and at the age of a month are
+capable of taking care of themselves: they then assume a spotted coat, which
+changes gradually to the adult markings, which are perfected in about three
+years. The adult male is about five feet long, the body generally of a tawny
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span>grey, varying to nearly white, marked with a conspicuous band of dark brown
+or black spots running into each other, which, commencing on the upper
+part of the back between the shoulders and curving downwards, is continued
+along the sides, disappearing before it reaches the hind flippers. The under
+parts are a dingy white, and the muzzle nearly black. The female, according
+to Dr. Brown, rarely reaches five feet in length, and is a dull white or
+yellowish straw-colour, tawny on the back, and with similar markings to the
+male, but somewhat lighter. Some are bluish or dark grey on the back, with
+“oval markings of a dark colour apparently impressed on a yellowish or
+reddish-brown ground:” these, Dr. Brown believes to be young females.
+The adult Greenland Seal is readily recognized, but it varies so greatly in
+its different stages of immaturity, and individuals differ so much from each
+other, that the most trustworthy characters are to be found in the dentition
+and the structure of the skull, which should in all cases be preserved, as
+affording the most ready and reliable means of determining the species of
+doubtful individuals. As has before been said, the second toe of the fore
+flipper is the longest in this species.</p>
+
+
+<h5>HOODED SEAL.</h5>
+
+<p>The <span class="smcap">Hooded or Bladder-nosed Seal</span>, <i>Cystophora cristata</i> (Erxleben),
+fig. 5, has occurred at least thrice upon our shores. In June, 1847, a young
+one was killed in the Orwell, and is now in the Ipswich Museum; in 1872
+a second young one was killed in Scotland near St. Andrew’s; and a third
+specimen, an adult male, was caught in February, 1873, at Frodsham, on the
+Cheshire side of the Mersey, and lived in captivity till the beginning of the
+following June (Pr. Liverpool Soc. xxvii. p. 63). Others are believed to have
+been obtained in the Orkneys. Mr. Howard Saunders was assured that the
+“Bladder-nose” is well-known as a visitor to the Vae Skerries, Shetland
+(Alston’s ‘Mammalia of Scotland,’ p. 15); and a Seal supposed to be of
+this species was seen off the Irish coast near Westport. In Hollingshed’s
+‘Chronicles,’ in the year 1577, sundry fishes of monstrous shape, with cowls
+on their heads like monks, and in the rest resembling the body of a man, are
+said to have occurred in the Firth of Forth (Bell’s ‘Brit. Quads.’), the
+appearance of which was of course followed by pestilence and famine.
+Throughout the Polar seas this species is widely distributed, being found in
+the Greenland seas, Iceland, and Spitzbergen, also occasionally in the
+temperate waters of Europe and America. It is polygamous and migratory
+in its habits: during the rutting season it is very pugnacious, and Dr. Brown
+says great battles take place between the males, and their roaring is said to
+be so loud that it can be heard for miles off. The young, which are born in
+April, are pure white at first, which changes to grey, and gradually becomes
+darker till it assumes the adult colour and markings, which it appears to do
+about the fourth year; the colour then is “dark chestnut or black, with a
+greater or less number of round or oval markings of a still deeper hue.” The
+adult is furnished with a curious bladder-like appendage, commencing at the
+nostrils, with which it is connected, and continued upwards to the forehead:
+this, when inflated, presents a very remarkable appearance; when the animal
+is at rest it remains flaccid, but when irritated or excited, it is blown up to its
+full extent. It is generally believed that the “bladder” is found only in
+the male, but Dr. Brown does not think there is any just ground for this
+belief; he does not, however, assign any reason for doubting what has been
+positively asserted to be the case. The Bladder-nose Seal is fierce in its
+nature and dangerous to attack; although not actually taking the initiative
+it is always ready for battle, and will avail itself of any advantage by
+turning upon and following its opponent. The air-bladder, which is placed
+in the spot usually most vulnerable, renders it difficult to kill, as it forms a
+protection from the clubs of the sealers. This is one of the largest of the
+Northern Seals, varying, according to different authorities, from 7 to 10 or
+even 12 feet in length. The first toe of the fore flipper is the longest.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p025" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p025.jpg" alt="Hooded Seal">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 5. <span class="smcap">Hooded Seal</span> (<i>Cystophora cristata</i>).</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a><a id="Page_27"></a><a id="Page_28"></a>[Pg 28]</span></p>
+
+
+<h5>THE GREY SEAL.</h5>
+
+<p>One other species of true Seal, the <span class="smcap">Grey Seal</span>, <i>Halichœrus gryphus</i>
+(Fab.), claims a place in the British Fauna. Dr. Brown says the Grey Seal
+“has no doubt been frequently confounded with other species, particularly
+<i>Ph. barbata</i> and <i>Ph. grœnlandica</i>.” Such has undoubtedly been the case, and
+a specimen in the British Museum, long regarded as <i>Ph. barbata</i>, has been
+referred to this species. There is, I believe, no sufficient evidence that
+<i>Ph. barbata</i> has ever occurred on the British coast; but so imperfect even
+now is our acquaintance with the Seals which frequent our shores, that it may
+even yet be found. As before mentioned, the bristles forming the “whiskers”
+of <i>Ph. barbata</i>, are simple flattened hairs, without the impressed pattern found
+in the bristles of the known British species; they are nearly the same
+thickness throughout, and sharply curved near the end.</p>
+
+<p>The Grey Seal has been found on various parts of the coast, from Shetland
+to the Isle of Wight; the Orkney and Shetland Isles, the Hebrides, and
+the west coast of Ireland, however, appear to be its chief places of resort
+on our shores; it has also been known to breed on the Fern Islands.
+Haskier Island, off North Uist, has long been known as a favourite breeding-place
+of this species. Captain Elwes, who visited this island on the 30th
+June, 1868 (‘Ibis,’ 1869, p. 25), informed Mr. Harvie-Brown that, up to the
+year 1858, an annual battle was held there in the month of November, when
+the Seals resort to the rocks with their young ones, and that from forty to
+one hundred, old and young, would be killed. This wholesale destruction
+has been put a stop to, and as it is extremely shy and difficult to approach
+at other seasons, it is to be hoped that this species may for some time escape
+extermination in this favourite resort.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p029" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p029.jpg" alt="Grey Seal">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 6. <span class="smcap">Grey Seal</span> (<i>Halichœrus gryphus</i>).</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a><a id="Page_31"></a>[Pg 31]</span></p>
+
+<p>According to Bell, this species inhabits the “temperate northern seas
+rather than the Polar waters,” and is found in the North Sea, Baltic, Iceland,
+Scandinavia, Denmark, and North Germany. Dr. Brown met with a
+specimen a little south of Discoe Island, but can only speak of its claims
+to a place in the Greenland Fauna as strongly probable. Bell gives some
+interesting information with regard to the habits of this species as observed
+in various British stations, and calls attention to the remarkable fact, that
+whereas in this country it produces its young in the months of October and
+November, on the Continent this is always said to take place in February;
+he suggests, to account for this singular discrepancy, that in our milder
+climate pairing takes place much earlier than in Scandinavia. The young,
+which are born white, are suckled for about a fortnight; the first coat is shed
+before they take to the water, which is not for some weeks after birth. The
+colour varies with age, sex, and season, so much, that it is not of great
+service in their identification, their large size being the best external guide.
+Lloyd, in his ‘Game-birds and Wild-fowl of Sweden and Norway,’ speaking
+of this species, says that even should it somewhat resemble the Common
+Seal in size and colour, as is at times the case, it may always be readily
+distinguished from the latter by the greater length of its claws and the
+superior breadth of its muzzle. The claws project considerably beyond the
+ends of the toes, the first of which is the longest. The general colour of the
+adult is greyish, tinged with yellow, and spotted and blotched with darker
+grey; the under parts lighter. The length of the adult varies from 7 to
+10 feet. By the form of its skull and teeth it is readily distinguished,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span>as well as by the great size of the animal. In the skull the brain-case
+is small, the nasal opening very large, and the grinders conical, only the
+two hinder pair in the upper, and the last pair in the lower jaw, double-rooted,
+the rest simple. Professor Bell, in his history of ‘British Quadrupeds,’
+gives the generic and specific characters, as well as excellent figures
+of the skulls of the various British Seals, which will be found most useful
+in determining the species of any doubtful individuals; other figures will be
+found in Dr. Gray’s ‘Catalogue of the Seals and Whales in the British
+Museum.’</p>
+
+
+<h5>THE WALRUS, OR MORSE.</h5>
+
+<p>Of the many strange forms which the Zoological Society of London has
+been the means of introducing to the stay-at-home naturalists of this country,
+certainly not the least interesting is that of the Walrus (<i>Trichechus rosmarus</i>,
+Linn.) It is true that in neither of the instances in which the young animal
+has been brought alive to the Gardens, has it long survived in its new home;
+but, short though its residence amongst us, the opportunity has been afforded
+to many of becoming acquainted with the Arctic stranger in <i>propriâ personâ</i>,
+instead of through the distorted medium of the badly-stuffed skins, or the
+equally bad representations of this interesting animal, which, until recently,
+we have possessed. The first recorded appearance of the Walrus in this
+country was, I believe, in 1624, when, according to Hakluyt’s ‘Pilgrimes,’ a
+young one was brought to England by Master Thomas Welden, in the <i>God-speed</i>,
+and duly presented at Court. In 1853 the Zoological Society became
+possessed of a young one, which lived only a few days in their Gardens.
+On the 1st of November, 1867, another was received, which lived till the
+19th of December, when it unfortunately died, notwithstanding the care
+bestowed upon it, both as regards food and accommodation. This last was
+captured by the whale-ship <i>Arctic</i>, on the 28th of August, 1867, in lat. 69°
+N. and long. 64° W., and brought to Dundee, whence it was conveyed by
+Mr. Bartlett to the Society’s Gardens. The captain of the <i>Arctic</i> saw two
+or three hundred walruses basking upon the ice, and sent out his boats to
+the attack: among the killed was an old female followed by her young one;
+the latter was taken on board and eventually brought to England.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p033" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p033.jpg" alt="Walrus">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 7. <span class="smcap">Walrus, or Morse</span> (<i>Trichechus rosmarus</i>).</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a><a id="Page_35"></a>[Pg 35]</span></p>
+
+<p>Although now confined to the icy seas of the Arctic circle, the Walrus
+was probably not uncommon on our shores in times long past. The skull
+is said to have been found in the peat near Ely, and Hector Boece, in his
+‘Cronikles of Scotland,’ mentions it as a regular inhabitant of our shores in the
+end of the 15th century: in the present century it has occurred several times,
+although it must be considered as a very rare straggler, sadly out of its latitude.
+Wallace says that its fossil remains have been found in Europe as far south
+as France, and in America probably as far south as Virginia, and it was
+common in the Gulf of St. Lawrence so late as 1770 (Leith Adams). In
+recent times it has retreated before its great enemy, man, from the northern
+coasts of Scandinavia to the circumpolar ice of Asia, America, and Europe,
+sometimes, but rarely, reaching as far south as lat. 60°. In Smith’s Sound
+the Walrus does not appear to move further north than Cape Frazer, the
+meeting-place of the polar and southern tides: at this point Captain Feilden
+saw a single example. Whenever met with, it is the object of ruthless
+persecution, and is rapidly and surely becoming exterminated wherever man
+can reach it; and but for its ice-loving habits, which render its present
+strongholds always difficult, and sometimes impossible, of access, it would
+doubtless long ere this have become extinct.</p>
+
+<p>Recently it has been met with on our shores, according to Bell, on the
+coast of Harris in 1817; in the Orkneys in 1825; one was seen in 1827 in
+Hoy Sound, but not captured; and in 1841 one was killed near Harris.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span>Dr. Brown also states that two were seen, one in Orkney and the other in
+Shetland, in 1857. Prof. Heddle also informed Mr. Harvie-Brown that in
+1849 or 1850 he saw an adult, and a young one, off the coast of the parish
+of Walls, in Orkney (Harvie-Brown, <i>Proc. Nat. Hist. Soc. of Glasgow</i>, 1879,
+p. 97.)&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_15_15" href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a></p>
+
+<p>The <i>Trichechus</i> may be considered as intermediate between the true Seals
+and the Eared Seals, to both of which families it has affinities: it is carnivorous,
+feeding on mollusks, fish, and when it can get it, the flesh of whales. The
+stomach of one, examined by Captain Feilden, contained a large amount of
+green fluid oil, in which small particles of <i>Ulva latissima</i> could be detected,
+and minute fragments of the shells of <i>Mya</i>. Its habits were so well and
+succinctly described by Captain Cook a hundred years ago, that I cannot do
+better than quote his own words, the accuracy of which has since been amply
+confirmed. Whilst in Behring’s Straits, in lat. 70° 6′, and long. 196° 42′, on
+the 19th of August, 1778, Cook first met with the Walrus: “they lie,” he
+says, “in herds of many hundreds upon the ice, huddling one over the other
+like swine, and roar or bray very loud; so that in the night, or in foggy
+weather, they gave us notice of the vicinity of the ice before we could see it.
+We never found the whole herd asleep, some being always on the watch.
+These, on the approach of the boat, would wake those next to them, and the
+alarm being thus gradually communicated, the whole herd would awake
+presently. But they were seldom in a hurry to get away till after they had
+been once fired at, then they would tumble one over the other into the sea in
+the utmost confusion; and if we did not at the first discharge kill those we
+fired at, we generally lost them, though mortally wounded. They do not
+appear to us to be that dangerous animal some authors have described; not
+even when attacked. They are rather more so to appearance than in reality.
+Vast numbers of them would follow and come close up to the boats, but the
+flash of a musquet in the pan, or even the bare pointing of one at them, would
+send them down in an instant. The female will defend the young one to
+the very last, and at the expense of her own life, whether in the water
+or upon the ice. Nor will the young one quit the dam, though she be dead;
+so that if you kill one you are sure of the other. The dam, when in the
+water, holds the young one between her fore-fins.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_16_16" href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> Since Cook’s time the
+Walrus has learned to fear man, its only enemy except the Polar Bear, and
+is more difficult to approach. When wounded, or its young in danger, it has
+been known fiercely to attack the boats sent for its capture, striving to overturn
+them, and piercing their sides with its tusks: many serious accidents
+have been the result.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p037" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p037.jpg" alt="Vacca marina">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 8. <i>Vacca marina</i> (reduced from Gesner).</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span></p>
+
+<p>The number of Walruses killed annually by the Norwegian and Russian
+hunters is very considerable; probably nearly an equal number are wounded
+and lost. As the female produces only a single young one at a birth, which is
+said to remain with the mother nearly two years, “until its tusks are grown
+long enough to be used in grubbing up the shell mud at the sea-bottom,” it will
+readily be imagined that the destruction is greatly in excess of the production,
+and that they are rapidly decreasing in numbers. A communication in
+the <i>Field</i> of March 27th, 1880 (p. 381), received from St. Francisco, points out
+even more serious consequences resulting from the reckless destruction of the
+Walrus than the mere extermination of a species, itself a matter of no small
+regret. “If,” says the writer, “the whalers reach Behring Strait before the
+ice breaks up, they remain on the coast, and often hunt the Walrus for weeks
+together, with startling and serious results. Last year’s campaign was considered
+successful, as about 11,000 Walruses were secured, most of them
+within the Arctic Sea. But to attain this result, <i>between thirty and forty
+thousand animals were killed</i>, so that only <i>one-third</i> of the number destroyed
+were actually utilised. There can be no doubt as to the ultimate consequence
+of such glaring imprudence; but last year they were so painfully apparent as
+to touch even the hearts of those who occasioned them. Not that the whalers
+were moved to compassion by the victims themselves, but by the sufferings of
+the human beings who were deprived of their chief source of subsistence. The
+hardy tribes in the neighbourhood of Behring Strait literally cannot exist
+without the Walrus, and so long as they were its only human enemies the
+number destroyed was inconsiderable. But the herds soon dwindled under
+the superior weapons and appliances of civilised nations, and the survivors
+retreated, like the Whales, towards the Pole. By the end of last season, not
+a single Walrus was left on the coast, and the immediate result was such a
+terrible famine among the natives that the whalers themselves speak of it
+remorsefully. The population north of St. Lawrence Bay has been reduced
+by one-third; and in a village which formerly contained 200 inhabitants, only
+one man survived. Several of the whalers have consequently refused to take
+any part in future Walrus hunts on the coast; they assert that for every
+hundred animals killed, a native family must perish by starvation, and they
+will not incur so heavy a responsibility.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p039" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p039.jpg" alt="Head of Walrus">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 9. <span class="smcap">Head of Walrus</span> (Modified after Murie).</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span></p>
+
+<p>About the month of August they repair to the shore, and congregating
+in vast herds on the beach of some secluded bay, lie for weeks together in a
+semi-torpid condition, without moving or feeding. Should their retreat be
+discovered whilst in this state, great is the slaughter. Mr. Lamont, in his
+‘Seasons with the Sea Horses,’ says that in 1852, on a small island off
+Spitzbergen (one of the Thousand Islands), two small sloops discovered a
+herd of Walruses consisting of three or four thousand, nine hundred of which
+they succeeded in killing, only a small portion of the produce of which,
+however, they were able to carry away.</p>
+
+<p>The colour of the Walrus is brown, paling with age, and the skin is thickly
+covered with short hairs; the adult reaches the length of 10 or 15 feet, or,
+according to some authorities, even more, and weighs from two to three
+thousand pounds. Its rounded head, heavy muzzle, thickly set with stout
+bristles, small, round blood-shot eyes, and formidable tusks, give to this
+animal a ferocious appearance which is foreign to its nature, except when
+greatly excited or at pairing time, when the old bulls are said to fight with
+great fierceness and determination. A full-grown Walrus will yield from five
+to six hundred pounds of blubber, the oil from which, however, is not so
+fine as that of the Seal. The ivory tusks were formerly much used by
+dentists; at present, I believe, owing to the introduction of vulcanite, very
+little is applied to that purpose. Mr. Lamont mentions 24 in. in length
+and 4 lb. each in weight, as the size of a good pair of bull’s tusks: a pair in
+the Norwich Museum measure 32 in. in length, and the heavier of the two
+weighs 9 lb. 9 oz. The immensely elongated canine teeth which form the
+“tusks,” are found in both sexes, but are shorter and more slender in the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span>female than in the male. The skin of the Walrus is valuable for many
+purposes.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p041" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p041.jpg" alt="Sea Horse">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 10. “<span class="smcap">Sea Horse</span>” (<i>After Cook</i>).</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Few animals, so long known to man, have, when figured, been represented
+so inaccurately as the Walrus: the hind feet are almost invariably depicted
+extended backwards, like those of the Seal (so also in stuffed specimens),
+whereas in the living animals they can be directed to the front, and serve as
+supports to the body in progression on the land or ice, in the same manner
+as the hind limbs of the eared seals. Dr. J. E. Gray, in an article ‘On the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span>Attitudes and Figures of the Morse,’ in the Proceedings of the Zoological
+Society of London for 1853, pp. 112-16, reproduces some of the wonderful
+prints of this animal from old authors, most of which are purely imaginary:
+Fig. 8, p. 37, is copied from one of these. By far the best portrait known, till
+quite recently, is one published in Amsterdam in 1613, where an old female
+and her young one are very accurately depicted: this has been reproduced
+in Bell’s ‘British Quadrupeds,’ 2nd edition, p. 269. Fig. 10 is copied from
+the “Sea Horse,” in the foreground of Cook’s illustration in ‘A Voyage to
+the Pacific,’ &amp;c., 1784 edit., vol. ii., p. 446; as will be seen, this figure forms
+the source from which most subsequent illustrations were derived. Fig. 7 is
+taken, by kind permission of the late Mr. F. Buckland, from his ‘Log-book of
+a Fisherman and Zoologist,’ and represents “Jemmy,” the young Walrus,
+whose brief sojourn in the Zoological Gardens has already been referred to.
+One of Mr. Wolf’s “Zoological Sketches” represents a herd of Walruses in
+almost every conceivable attitude, and of course beautifully drawn and
+coloured.</p>
+
+<p>Some authors recognise two distinct species of Walrus, one of which is
+said to be confined to the northern shores of the Atlantic, the other to the
+Pacific Ocean. Mr. Allen, in the ‘North American Pinnipeds,’ enters at
+length into the subject, and minutely describes the peculiarities which characterise
+each species. Reviving, after the example of Malmgren, the almost
+obsolete generic name of <i>Odobænus</i>, he describes the Atlantic Walrus under
+the name <i>O. rosmarus</i>; the animal found in the Pacific he calls <i>O. obesus</i>.
+The chief external points of difference in the latter appear to be in the facial
+outline, the longer and thinner tusks, “generally more convergent, with much
+greater inward curvature; the mystacial bristles shorter and smaller, and the
+muzzle relatively deeper and broader, in corelation with the greater breadth
+and depth of the skull anteriorly.” The eyes are also said to lack the
+“fiery red” appearance attributed to the Atlantic Walrus, and to be smaller
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span>and very protuberant. Cook’s figure reproduced at p. 41, also that at p.
+177 of Scammon’s book, are those of <i>Odobænus obesus</i>, and the fine pair of
+tusks mentioned at p. 40, as now in the Norwich Museum, were probably
+also obtained from a Pacific Walrus. The figure at p. 33, and the excellent
+figure by Wolf, at p. 457 of Lloyd’s ‘Game-birds and Wild-fowl of Sweden
+and Norway,’ are of the Atlantic Walrus.</p>
+
+<p>It is much to be regretted that the extinction of this harmless and useful
+animal is merely a matter of time, and that perhaps before many years have
+passed it may have ceased to exist; the only hope appears to be that when
+it has become too scarce to render its pursuit remunerative, a remnant may
+still be left to continue the species around the far off and unapproachable
+islands of the Arctic seas. Even in Franz Josef Land, where, in the summer
+of 1880, Mr. Leigh-Smith found the Walrus very abundant: it will probably
+not long remain unmolested, for that gentleman informed Captain Feilden
+that the Norwegian walrus-hunters, when they heard of his discovery, talked
+of pushing on for Franz Josef Land next summer, the Spitsbergen walrus-hunting
+having become very uncertain, from the paucity and wariness of the
+animals.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_17_17" href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a></p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CETACEA">
+  CETACEA.
+</h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The occasional stranding upon our shores of some monster member of
+the order <span class="smcap">Cetacea</span> serves from time to time to reawaken our interest in these
+wonderful animals, and sets us thinking how little we know about them, and
+how small is our acquaintance with their life-history.</p>
+
+<p>Nor is this lack of information surprising when we consider that the difficulties
+in the way of studying the larger Cetacea, are so great as to be almost
+insuperable to any ordinary person, and even to the leaders of zoological
+science rarely does the opportunity present itself of examining specimens in
+the flesh; for, of the rare instances in which they are cast ashore, the majority
+occur in wild and unfrequented parts of the coast, where they are probably
+cut up for their oil before a naturalist has an opportunity of examining them.
+From their unnatural position when cast up, and their altered appearance,
+owing to the falling in of some parts and the distension of others, correct
+portraiture is almost impossible; and their great size renders it difficult and
+expensive to make them serviceable to science, while from the putrid
+condition in which they are frequently found, a close examination is too often
+anything but agreeable. If seen in their native element, where alone they
+<i>should</i> be seen duly to appreciate their grand proportions and perfect adaptation
+to their mode of life, the view must be brief and too often distant,
+certainly affording rare opportunities for close observation. There is thus
+little left for naturalists to study, except the bony skeletons, and of these
+often mere fragments. Under these circumstances, we shall cease to wonder
+at the great confusion which, till recently, existed in the classification and
+nomenclature of the <i>Cetacea</i>, and which has been only partially cleared away,
+chiefly by the labours of Professors Flower and Turner in this country, and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span>by Professors Eschricht, Reinhardt, Van Beneden, Gervais, and others on the
+continent. The literature of the subject is widely scattered and difficult of
+access; and, although Dr. Gray and Professor Flower have done much to
+condense and systematize what is known, our acquaintance with the tropical
+and southern species of this interesting order is not at present sufficient to
+furnish materials for a monograph worthy of the subject. No class of animals
+has been called so many names, or so vilely caricatured in portraits, as the
+unfortunate Whales.</p>
+
+<p>It is scarcely necessary now to say that the <i>Cetacea</i> hold a fully recognized
+place in the great class <i>Mammalia</i>, although this honour has not always been
+accorded to them. Ray classed them with the Fishes; and although Linnæus
+finally placed them in their true position, Pennant, following his earlier
+mistake, failed to do so. The members of this order, which includes the
+Whales proper, Narwhal, Dolphins, and Porpoises (with which, until recently,
+the Dugong and Manatees were improperly associated under the name of
+Herbivorous Cetaceans), bring forth their young alive. These are nourished
+by the female, which, for this purpose, is furnished with two inguinal mammæ.
+They are warm-blooded, and breathe by means of lungs, rendering frequent
+visits to the surface of the water necessary, as the animal can only respire
+when the orifice of the nostrils, called the blow-hole, which is placed on the
+top of the head, is above water. The breathing apparatus is very peculiar,
+being so modified that the air is admitted into the trachea without passing
+through the mouth; the Whale can thus breathe freely, provided the blow-hole
+be above water, even when its mouth is submerged or filled with water.
+There are no external ears, but a small aperture situated just behind the eye,
+communicates with a perfectly-constructed internal hearing apparatus, and
+this, as the water is an excellent conductor of sound, is all-sufficient. The
+food of the <i>Cetacea</i> consists of various forms of marine animals, from the Seal,
+which frequently forms a meal to the fierce Grampus, to the minute creatures
+which go to build up the giant form of the Right-Whale. Some possess
+numerous formidable teeth in both jaws; others have teeth in the lower jaw
+only; and in one section the teeth are only present in the embryo, but in
+their stead, from the upper jaw depend curious plates, arranged side by side,
+to which the name of <i>baleen</i> has been given. The animal is encased in a
+layer of fat called “blubber,” which lies beneath the skin, and serves to
+retain the heat of the body, and the skin is smooth, polished, and quite devoid
+of hair or scales. On the back of most species is found a fleshy dorsal fin,
+and the fore limbs are represented by flippers externally undivided; the hind
+limbs, so far as external appearance is concerned, are altogether absent, but a
+rudimentary pelvis is found embedded in the flesh. The tail-fin forms the
+chief organ of locomotion: it is always fixed horizontally, and is of great
+size and power, enabling the animal, by its vigorous use, to attain great
+speed. There are many and striking peculiarities in the bony skeleton which
+it is not necessary here to enumerate.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p046" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p046.jpg" alt="Median Section">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 11. <span class="smcap">Median Section, showing outside Left Half of Skull of Whalebone
+    Whale, with Baleen in position</span> (<i>modified after Eschricht</i>).</p>
+      <blockquote>
+    <b>Br.</b>, brain cavity; <b>J</b>, <b>J*</b>, upper and lower jaw-bones; <b>bo</b>, <b>bo</b>, being roughened parts of the bone sawn
+    through; arrows indicate the narial passages, which open at <b>s</b>, spout-hole; <b>w</b>, whalebone;
+    <b>t</b>, tongue, in dotted outline; <b>n</b>, nerve aperture, lower jaw.
+    </blockquote>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span></p>
+
+<p>Before proceeding to give some account of the species which have been
+found in the British Seas, it will first be necessary to say a few words as to
+the arrangement of the genera and species. I shall enter into this part of the
+subject, however, so far only as is necessary for us clearly to understand the
+relative positions of the species which we shall have to consider.</p>
+
+<p>Professor Flower divides the order <i>Cetacea</i> into two sub-orders: First,
+<i>Mystacoceti</i>, or <i>Balænoidea</i>, in all the members of which baleen takes the place
+of teeth, which are never developed, disappearing before birth; second,
+<i>Odontoceti</i> or <i>Delphinoidea</i>, in which teeth (sometimes very numerous) are
+always developed after birth. The first sub-order is a very restricted one,
+embracing only two families, <i>Balænidæ</i> and <i>Balænopteridæ</i>, to the former of
+which belong the two genera of Right-Whales, <i>Balæna</i> and <i>Eubalæna</i>; and
+to the latter, two genera, namely, <i>Megaptera</i> and <i>Balænoptera</i>. To these
+two genera&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_18_18" href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> belong the Rorquals, which occasionally occur in the British
+seas. The second sub-order, <i>Odontoceti</i>, contains the families of <i>Physeteridæ</i>,
+represented by the Sperm Whale, Beaked Whale, and several allied species;
+<i>Platanistidæ</i>, consisting of some curious forms found only in India and South
+America; and <i>Delphinidæ</i>, comprising the Narwhal, Beluga, or White Whale,
+Grampus, Porpoise, and Dolphins. The total number of British <i>Cetacea</i>
+has been variously estimated; Dr. Gray, in 1864, described thirty, and in
+1873 thirty-three species; while Bell, whom we shall follow, recognised only
+twenty-two species in his second edition, published in 1874.</p>
+
+<p>The following table of the British Cetacea will serve to indicate at a
+glance the precise position assigned to each species, in the two main divisions
+into which the order is divided:—</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span></p>
+
+
+<p class="center" style="font-weight: bold;">
+BRITISH CETACEA.
+</p>
+
+<table class="autotable" style="border-style: solid;">
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">SUB-ORDER.</td>
+<td class="tdc">FAMILY.</td>
+<td class="tdc">SUB-FAMILY.</td>
+<td class="tdc">GENERA.</td>
+<td class="tdc">SPECIES.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{Balænidæ</td>
+<td class="tdl">Balæninæ</td>
+<td class="tdl">Balæna</td>
+<td class="tdl">{(?) B. mysticetus, <i>Right-Whale</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"><b>1.</b></td>
+<td class="tdl">{</td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{B. biscayensis, <i>Atlantic Right-Whale</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">Mystacoceti</span></td>
+<td class="tdl">{</td>
+<td class="tdl">{Megapterinæ</td>
+<td class="tdl">Megaptera</td>
+<td class="tdl">M. longimana, <i>Hump-backed Whale</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">(<b>Whalebone-Whales.</b>)</td>
+<td class="tdl">{Balænopteridæ </td>
+<td class="tdl">{</td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{B. musculus, <i>Common Rorqual</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{Balænopterinæ</td>
+<td class="tdl">Balænoptera</td>
+<td class="tdl">{B. sibbaldii, <i>Sibbald’s</i> ”</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{B. laticeps, <i>Rudolphi’s</i> ”</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{B. rostrata, <i>Lesser</i> ”</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{Physeterinæ</td>
+<td class="tdl">Physeter</td>
+<td class="tdl">P. macrocephalus, <i>Sperm Whale</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{Physeteridæ</td>
+<td class="tdl">{</td>
+<td class="tdl">{Hyperoodon</td>
+<td class="tdl">{H. rostratum, <i>Beaked Whale</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{</td>
+<td class="tdl">{</td>
+<td class="tdl">{</td>
+<td class="tdl">{H. latifrons, <i>Broad-fronted Beaked Whale</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{</td>
+<td class="tdl">{Ziphiinæ</td>
+<td class="tdl">{Ziphius</td>
+<td class="tdl">Z. cavirostris, <i>Cuvier’s Whale</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"><b>2.</b></td>
+<td class="tdl">{</td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{Mesoplodon</td>
+<td class="tdl">M. bidens, <i>Sowerby’s Whale</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">Odontoceti</span></td>
+<td class="tdl">{</td>
+<td class="tdl">{ Beluginæ</td>
+<td class="tdl">{Monodon</td>
+<td class="tdl">M. monoceros, <i>Narwhal</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc">(<b>Toothed Whales.</b>)</td>
+<td class="tdl">{</td>
+<td class="tdl">{</td>
+<td class="tdl">{Delphinapterus</td>
+<td class="tdl">D. leucas, <i>White Whale, or Beluga</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{Delphinidæ</td>
+<td class="tdl">{</td>
+<td class="tdl">{Orca</td>
+<td class="tdl">O. gladiator, <i>Grampus, or Killer</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{</td>
+<td class="tdl">{Grampus</td>
+<td class="tdl">G. griseus, <i>Risso’s Grampus</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{ Delphininæ</td>
+<td class="tdl">{Globicephalus</td>
+<td class="tdl">G. melas, <i>Pilot Whale</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{Phocœna</td>
+<td class="tdl">P. communis, <i>Porpoise</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{</td>
+<td class="tdl">{D. delphis, <i>Common Dolphin</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{ Delphinus</td>
+<td class="tdl">{D. tursio, <i>Bottle-nosed Dolphin</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{D. acutus, <i>White-sided Dolphin</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl">{D. albirostris, <i>White-beaked Dolphin</i></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak p2" id="MYSTACOCETI_WHALEBONE_WHALES">
+  MYSTACOCETI (WHALEBONE WHALES.)
+</h2>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak">
+  <i>BALÆNIDÆ.</i>
+</h3>
+</div>
+
+<h4>THE GREENLAND RIGHT-WHALE.</h4>
+
+<p>The first species, both in order and importance, of the Family <i>Balænidæ</i>
+is the well-known <i>Balæna mysticetus</i>, the <span class="smcap">Greenland</span>, or <span class="smcap">Right-Whale</span> as
+it is called by the whalers. So extremely doubtful, however, are the claims
+of this animal to a place in the British Fauna, that it is retained in the present
+treatise solely on account of the great interest attaching to it as a species,
+and not from any idea of maintaining for it a position, which, although
+hitherto assigned to it, has now become untenable. The use of the term
+well-known is perhaps unadvised; for, although this species has engaged the
+energies and industry of the merchant seamen of Northern Europe for
+centuries, so little was known of it scientifically, that not a single skeleton
+had ever found its way into any European museum, until Eschricht obtained
+one from Holsteinborg, in Greenland, in 1846. The recorded instances
+of the supposed occurrence of this species in the British Seas are unsatisfactory
+in the extreme. The most positive record is that in Messrs.
+Paget’s ‘Natural History of Great Yarmouth.’ They say: “<i>Balæna
+mysticetus</i>—common Whale—a small one taken near Yarmouth, July 8,
+1784.” Sir James Paget, however, in a letter to the Author, is unable to add
+to the brief statement, as will be seen from the following extract from his
+communication:—“I am sorry I can give you no information respecting the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span>Whale taken off Yarmouth in 1784; I have no notes as to the source from
+which I derived the statement, but probably it was from some MS. of Mr.
+Dawson Turner’s. It is not likely that any bones of the Whale were kept
+in Yarmouth, for there was no naturalist there at the time, and the whaling-trade,
+which was then actively carried on from the port, must have made
+Whales’ bones very common.” This is all that is ever likely to be learned of
+the Yarmouth Right-whale; but the season at which it occurred would render
+the heated seas on our coast utterly unbearable to an ice-loving inhabitant
+of the Arctic seas. This, with its small size, would seem to point to a
+closely-allied species to be mentioned soon. Sibbald records the occurrence
+of what he considers was probably a Right-whale, at Peterhead, in 1682; and
+a Whale recorded at Tynemouth by Willughby may have been of this
+species. In the first edition of Bell’s ‘Quadrupeds’ is a communication from
+the Rev. Mr. Barclay to the effect that on the coast of Zetland dead or very
+lean Whales of this species have several times been found or have run
+aground; but in the second edition of the same work the authors state that
+“there is no proof these references do not apply to some other species.” The
+same may be said with reference to Low’s remarks in the ‘Fauna Orcadensis,’
+p. 158. This is all we know of the supposed occurrence of Right-Whales in
+British waters in recent times, and there is little doubt that these, if Right-Whales
+at all, should be referred to the next species.</p>
+
+<p>The extreme northern habitat assigned to this species by those who have
+devoted much time and labour to the investigation of the subject, clearly
+proves that it must either have changed its habitat, which its present habits
+seem to render improbable, or that some other species formerly inhabited the
+temperate seas outside the Arctic circle extending southward to the Atlantic
+as far as latitude 40°, for it is beyond doubt that a brisk whale-fishery was
+carried on in former times by the Basque population in the Bay of Biscay
+and adjacent seas as far back as the 8th or 10th century. That such a
+southern species, distinct from the northern Right-whale did exist, is proved
+by Professors Eschricht and Reinhardt in their splendid memoir of the
+‘Greenland Whale,’ a translation of which, edited by Professor Flower, was
+published by the ‘Ray Society’ in 1866, and of that species we shall give some
+account further on.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p051" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p051.jpg" alt="Greenland Right-Whale">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 12. <span class="smcap">Greenland Right-Whale</span> (<i>Balæna mysticetus</i>, Linn.)</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a><a id="Page_53"></a>[Pg 53]</span></p>
+
+<p>It has been asserted that the Greenland Whales supposed formerly to have
+visited our coasts, have been driven north by the increased traffic in the more
+frequented seas of temperate Europe; but from the habits of this species as
+observed on the west coast of Greenland, at the fishing stations established
+by the Danish Government, and recorded in the memoir just referred to, no
+confirmation of this theory is afforded. The fishery at these stations was prosecuted
+from the shore when the Whales appeared upon the coast in the winter
+months; as the spring advanced they followed the receding ice-line, and were
+seen in summer as far north in Baffin’s Bay as ships had at that time succeeded
+in penetrating, whilst their southward range in winter was always
+limited by a rather northerly degree of latitude. This, it is shown, went
+on with the greatest regularity for at least 80 years, during which the Whales
+constantly made their appearance at the same places, at the same season,
+without the slightest alteration taking place. The fact of the Whales always
+moving northward as the ice breaks up, will account for their being found
+in the spring in different latitudes; thus, on the Greenland coast, they are
+found, at this season, in latitude 65° 25′; but in Davis’ Strait, in 61° to 62°,
+always, however, inseparable from the ice. Messrs. Eschricht and Reinhardt
+thus conclude: “It seems, therefore, that the Whales have not retreated
+further north, as they are still found within precisely the same limits in
+which they were found at the beginning of the persecution, but in numbers
+so diminished that the fishery will hardly repay the trouble and expense
+attending it.”</p>
+
+<p>Capt. Feilden, the naturalist to Sir Geo. Nares’s Arctic expedition, speaking
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span>of the Northern range of this species, says he is quite satisfied that “no
+Whale could inhabit at the present day the frozen sea to the north of
+Robeson Channel. To penetrate from the North-water of Baffin Bay to
+Robeson Channel, would be a hazardous task for this great animal, and in
+this opinion the experienced whaling quartermasters, who accompanied our
+Expedition, coincided. We may dismiss from our minds the idea or hope
+that nearer to the Pole, and beyond the limits of present discovery, there may
+be haunts in the Polar Sea suitable for the Right-whale. I do not look for
+the speedy extinction of the Greenland Whale; but it is probable that in
+a few years the fishing will no longer prove profitable to the fine fleet of
+whalers that now sail from our northern ports, and I see no hope of Arctic
+discovery increasing our knowledge of the range of this animal.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_19_19" href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></p>
+
+<p>The southern limit of the Right-whale in the Northern ocean may be
+shown by a line drawn from the coast of Lapland at 70°, just touching the
+southern point of Iceland, and ending on the coast of Labrador at about
+55° north latitude.</p>
+
+<p>The whaling-trade, which once employed so many hardy seamen, is now
+reduced to very narrow limits, and appears to have passed almost entirely into
+the hands of the English, or rather Scotch. The Biscayans were not content
+with exterminating the Whales found in their own seas, but in 1721 they had
+twenty vessels in the Greenland fishery; the Dutch also took a large part in
+the trade; and in the year 1680, when they appear to have been the most
+actively engaged in the fishery, they are said to have had about 260 ships and
+14,000 men employed. In 1725 the South Sea Company embarked in the
+trade, but meeting with considerable losses, speedily gave it up. The Government,
+in order to encourage this languishing branch of industry, in 1732
+granted a bounty of 20s. per ton on the oil; this, being found insufficient,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span>was increased in 1749 to 40s. per ton, which caused a considerable increase
+in the number of vessels; but upon Parliament, in 1777, reducing the bounty
+to 30s. per ton, the number of vessels rapidly fell off from 105 to 39; the
+bounty was then, in 1781, raised to its old level, with a corresponding increase
+in the number of vessels employed. Then followed a gradual process of reduction,
+until in the year 1824 the bounty altogether ceased, and the ships fell
+off from 112 in 1824, to 88 in 1827.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_20_20" href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> During the nine years ending 1818
+there was an average of 91 English (sailing from eight ports), and forty-one
+Scotch ships (sailing from nine ports) employed in the trade; in 1830
+they were reduced to 41 English vessels (sailing from five ports), to which
+Hull contributed 33, and 50 Scotch vessels (sailing from seven ports), to
+which Peterhead contributed 13, and Dundee 9.</p>
+
+<p>The years 1819 and 1830 were both very disastrous to the whale-trade; in
+the former year fourteen British vessels were lost, and in the latter, nineteen
+British ships were totally wrecked, and twelve seriously injured. The number
+of ships employed has since gradually decreased, and at present Dundee and
+Peterhead are the only two ports in Great Britain engaged in the whale-fishery.
+Dundee sends out fifteen powerful steam-vessels, which leave about the
+beginning of May, and if fortunate in filling up, return, according to circumstances,
+from August to the beginning of November. Peterhead sends
+five steamers and one sailing vessel; they are ship-rigged, and from two to
+five hundred tons register, and 40 to 100 horse power. The expense now
+incurred renders it necessary that a large number of Whales should be taken
+to make the voyage pay: the <i>Arctic</i>, in her voyage of 1873, captured twenty-eight
+Whales, which were estimated to produce in oil and bone £18,925, or
+about £678 per Whale, the best Whale, a female with sucker, was estimated at
+£1,500, and the smallest at only £110. An average Whale produces 9½ tons
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span>of oil, a ton measuring 252 gallons, and 7 ft. 6 in. of whalebone; the longest
+bone cut of the twenty-eight fish was 11 ft. 9 in. and the shortest 2 ft. 6 in.
+This was considered a very successful year. The whale-fishery was commenced
+at Peterhead in 1788; since that time, up to the year 1879, Captain
+David Gray informs me that 995 voyages have been made to the Greenland
+and Davis’ Straits whale and seal-fisheries, and there have been brought
+home 4195 Whales, furnishing 30,975 tons of oil, and 1549 tons of whalebone,
+besides 1,673,052 Seals, yielding 20,913 tons of oil, leaving a nett profit
+of £583,020, or £586 per ship per voyage. The Dundee whale-fishery
+commenced in 1790, and the seal-fishery in 1860; since that time up to the
+season of 1879, 538 voyages have been made to the Greenland and Davis’
+Straits whale and seal-fisheries, including Labrador, which have produced
+4220 Whales, yielding 32,774 tons of oil and 1640 tons of whalebone, besides
+917,278 Seals, yielding 10,464 tons of oil, valued together at £2,160,400,
+leaving a nett profit of £652,320, or £1212 10s. per ship per voyage. Capt.
+Gray adds: “I have often been asked where all the Whales are gone to;
+let the above figures be the reply.”</p>
+
+<p>The present price of whale-oil is from £28 to £30 per ton, the whalebone
+ranging as high as £1100 per ton, according to the length of the bone; but
+although there are exceptions, of late years the fishery, as a whole, is said,
+on good authority, not to have paid the heavy expenses of the fleet engaged
+in it, nor does there seem much prospect of improvement, mineral oil being
+now used for many purposes for which formerly whale and seal oil was
+required. One of the chief uses to which whale and seal oil are now
+applied is in the preparation of the jute fibre, the manufacture of which
+is so extensively carried on at the port of Dundee, also the chief centre of
+the whaling-trade.</p>
+
+<p>An interesting account of a whaling voyage in the ship <i>Arctic</i>, and full
+particulars of the mode pursued in taking, and subsequent treatment of the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span>fish, is given by Captain A. H. Markham, in his ‘Whaling Cruise to Baffin’s
+Bay.’&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_21_21" href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a></p>
+
+<p>The usual length of a full-grown Right-whale is about 50 feet; but Dr.
+Brown, in his paper on the Cetaceans of the Greenland Seas (<i>P. Z. S.</i>, 1868,
+p. 539), gives the dimensions of one which measured 65 feet. The general
+colour is black. The mouth occupies about one-third of the entire length,
+and the baleen is from 10 to 12 feet long; it has been known to reach the
+great length of 13 ft. 2 in., and 9 in. in width. This baleen, which is found
+depending from the upper jaw, consists of a number of horny plates, similar
+in structure to the horn of the rhinoceros, consisting of a fibrous mass
+glutinated together in the solid portion, and placed transversely along either
+side of the palate; they are arranged closely together, with the external edge
+smooth, and gradually thinning off towards the inner margin, which ends in
+a fringe of long hair-like fibres: the number of laminæ is about 300 on each
+side.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_22_22" href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> Captain David Gray, of the <i>Eclipse</i>, an experienced whaler, in a
+communication to ‘Land and Water,’ on December 1, 1877, pointed out and
+first satisfactorily explained the means by which these extraordinary appendages
+are disposed of when the mouth of the Whale is closed. He shows
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span>that when the mouth is shut, the slender ends of the whalebone curve backwards
+towards the throat, the longer ones from the middle of the jaw falling
+into the hollow formed by the shortness of those behind them; when the
+animal opens its mouth to feed, the whalebone springs forward and downwards,
+thus always by its elasticity, filling up the space between the upper
+and lower jaws, whether the mouth be fully or only partially open, and
+interposing a strainer between the cavity of the mouth and the external water,
+effectually preventing the food which enters the mouth from passing out with
+the flow of water which passes through the mouth as the great beast pursues
+and captures its minute food.</p>
+
+<p>The Whale whilst feeding swims along with its mouth open, until it has
+collected a quantity of the small marine animals which form its food; then,
+closing its capacious under jaw, it forces out the water between the plates of
+baleen, leaving the captive prey stranded on its huge tongue, when it swallows
+them at leisure. The food of the Greenland Whale consists entirely of small
+marine animals, particularly a kind of shrimp, found in great abundance in
+the Arctic seas. This species seldom remains under water longer than from
+ten to fifteen minutes, returning to the surface to breathe, which, if undisturbed,
+occupies from two to three minutes. Capt. Gray, however, has known it when
+harpooned to stay under water fifty minutes. Professor Owen describes the
+wonderful provision for storing of blood in a vast plexus of blood-vessels
+found in the Cetacea, at the back of the lungs and between them and the ribs,
+thus enabling them, although lung-breathing animals, to stay under water for
+so protracted a period, and states that the peculiar non-valvular structure of
+the veins of the Cetacea, and the pressure on these reservoirs of blood at the
+depths to which they retreat when harpooned, explain the profuse and lethal
+hæmorrhage which follows a wound, that in other mammalia would not be
+fatal.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_23_23" href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a><a id="Page_60"></a>[Pg 60]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p060" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p060.jpg" alt="Atlantic Right-Whale">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 13. <span class="smcap">Atlantic Right-Whale</span> (<i>Balæna biscayensis</i>, Eschricht),
+    after Capellini.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span></p>
+
+<p>The Right-Whale is believed by Eschricht and Reinhardt to bring forth
+its single young one (rarely two) about the end of March or beginning of
+May, and the time of gestation to be thirteen or fourteen months, so that it
+will bring forth only every other year; Scoresby considers that they go eight
+or nine months, and bring forth in February or March.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_24_24" href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> The young one is
+supposed to be suckled for twelve months, during which time the baleen is
+gradually developed. In disposition, the Greenland Whale is timid and
+retiring; the chief danger in its capture arises from its rapid descent when
+harpooned; the line is then carried out with such speed that, should it foul or
+all run out and not be immediately cut, the boat will be upset or carried
+under water. Capt. David Gray estimates the speed of a struck or scared
+Whale at about eight miles an hour, and the ordinary speed at about four
+miles, whether sounding or along the surface. It has never been known to
+attack a boat, but accidents sometimes happen if approached too closely in its
+death “flurry,” which is said to be very terrible to witness. Its fondness for
+its young is such that if the “sucker” be killed the old one readily falls a victim,
+and the whalers do not fail to avail themselves, for their own advantage, of
+this amiable trait in its character.</p>
+
+
+<h5>THE ATLANTIC RIGHT-WHALE.</h5>
+
+<p>Until recently it was believed that a Whale formerly common in the
+temperate waters of the North Atlantic was identical with the Right-Whale
+of the Arctic seas, of which we have just given an account, but Professors
+Eschricht and Reinhardt have successfully shown, as stated in the previous
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span>article, that such is not the case, the habits of the two animals, as well as the
+localities frequented by each, being totally distinct. They have, therefore,
+described the more southern form as a distinct species, under the name of
+<i>Balæna biscayensis</i>, or the <span class="smcap">Atlantic Right-Whale</span>, the “Sarde” of the
+French, “Nordkaper” of the Dutch, and “Sletbag” of the Iceland whalers
+of former days.</p>
+
+<p>As early as the twelfth century, long before the whale-fishery was prosecuted
+in the Arctic seas, a brisk trade was carried on by the Basque fishermen
+from the Biscayan ports. That this fishery must have been of considerable
+importance, in a mercantile point of view, there can be no doubt, from the
+numerous references to be met with in early records; for instance, in 1261, a
+tithe was laid upon the tongues of all Whales imported into Bayonne, where
+they formed a much-esteemed article of food, and in 1338 a duty of £6 a
+Whale on those brought into the port of Biarritz was relinquished by Edward
+III. to Peter de Puyanne for services rendered; these and other like records
+extant show that for a long period this branch of industry was briskly prosecuted.
+Gradually, however, the Whales became more and more scarce, and
+the hardy Basque seamen, after following their prey to Newfoundland and
+Iceland, shortly after the discovery of Spitsbergen in 1596 found their all-but-lost
+occupation suddenly revive; the “Sletbag” was left behind, but the
+home of the true Greenland Whale, a much more valuable animal, was for the
+first time invaded, and that species, which then abounded in the seas surrounding
+Spitzbergen, speedily became the object of the whalers’ attack;
+many vessels were fitted out for its pursuit which carried Biscayan harpooners,
+the crews, also, generally consisting, in part, of these hardy seamen.</p>
+
+<p>So recently as the close of the last century, the Atlantic Right-whale was
+not infrequent in the North Atlantic; it was regularly caught on the coast of
+Nantucket, and occasionally by the American Whalers on the coast of
+Iceland; it has, however, now become very rare. Professors Eschricht and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span>Reinhardt thus summarise the distinctive characters of the “Sletbag,”
+“Sarde,” or “Nordkaper,” so far as they have been able to glean from all the
+sources accessible to them, and consider the species identical with their
+<i>B. biscayensis</i>:—</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p>1. “That it was much more active than the Greenland Whale, much quicker, and more
+violent in its movements, and, accordingly, both more difficult and more dangerous
+to catch.”</p>
+
+<p>2. “That it was smaller (it being, however, impossible to give an exact statement of its
+length), and had much less blubber.”</p>
+
+<p>3. “That its head was shorter, and that its whalebone was, comparatively speaking, much
+thicker, but scarcely more than half as long as that of the Greenland Whale, being,
+however, still much longer than that of even the very largest Fin-Whale, although the
+‘Sletbag’ itself probably scarcely attained to half the length of the last-named.”</p>
+
+<p>4. “That it was regularly infested with a Cirriped belonging to the genus <i>Coronula</i>, and
+that it belonged to the temperate Northern Atlantic as exclusively as the Greenland
+Whale belonged to the icy Polar Sea, so that it must be considered as equally
+exceptional when either of these species strayed into the range of the other, and,
+moreover, that in its native sea it was to be found farthest towards south in the
+winter (namely, in the Bay of Biscay, and near the coast of North America, down to
+Cape Cod), while in the summer it roved about in the sea round Iceland and between
+this Island and the most northerly part of Norway.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_25_25" href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a></p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>In addition to the British Right-Whales mentioned at the commencement
+of the previous article, which may almost with certainty be referred to
+this species, I am enabled, through the kindness of my friend, Captain David
+Gray, of Peterhead, to record two other instances of the occurrence of the
+Atlantic Right-Whale in British waters. With regard to the first case,
+Captain Gray was good enough to obtain for me the independent testimony
+of two old men, James Webster and John Allan, both of whom are still living
+at Peterhead, and were witnesses of the events which they relate. The two
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span>statements coincide so remarkably, making allowance for the lapse of so
+many years, that it is only necessary to give one. James Webster, 85 years
+of age, remembers Greenland Whales coming into South Bay of Peterhead:
+at that time he would have been about 10 years of age [Jno. Allan says “it
+was in 1806 or 1807, same year as the new parish church was opened;” this
+was in 1806, and agrees with Webster’s statement that he was 10 years old at
+the time]. Remembers them being an old Whale and a sucker. Saw five
+boats go out after them; as far as he recollects, thinks it was the month of
+October [“in the summer-time,” Allan]. They struck the old Whale, and
+put three harpoons into her, then they struck the sucker and killed it;
+brought the sucker ashore and flenched it at the South Quay. [Allan says
+“they killed the young Whale, and flenched her at the South Quay: she,
+having sunk, it was two or three days after, before they got her in.”] After
+they had three harpoons in the old Whale, she went twice up into the head
+of the Bay, going so far that she turned the sand up, and then she stove two
+of the boats, and broke Mackie’s, one of the harpooners, legs. [Allan does
+not remember the name of the injured man, and thinks only one boat
+was stove.] After this, the Whale took a run, and went out of the Bay,
+blowing blood. They followed her as fast as they could, they cut two
+of the boats from her, and left her towing one boat with their Jack blowing,
+after taking the crew out of her, and in this condition the Whale went out of
+sight, and they never saw or heard of her again. Allan says that when she
+went round the South Head, a heavy sea being on at the time, and darkness
+coming on, the boats cut and let her go, leaving the boat which was stove,
+fast to the Whale, the flag still blowing, and that she went out to sea and was
+never seen again. Capt. Gray adds that “Capt. Wm. Volum, of the ‘Enterprise,’
+and Capt. Alex. Geary, of the ‘Hope,’ both took part in the chase, and
+in that year the ‘Hope’ returned from Greenland on 30th June, and the
+‘Enterprise’ on 30th July; consequently, it must have been some time after
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span>the latter date that the Whales came into the Bay; probably Webster is right
+when he names October.”</p>
+
+<p>The second instance referred to by Captain Gray came under his own
+observation. Whilst taking a walk round the “Heads,” one Sunday morning
+before church, to the best of his recollection early in October, 1872, “I saw,”
+says Captain Gray, “a Greenland Whale within half a mile of the rocks off
+the South Head; its appearance and movements were exactly the same as
+those I have seen in Spitsbergen waters.” Accustomed, as Captain Gray
+has been for many years, to watch the appearance and actions of the
+northern species of Right-Whale, in the Polar seas, it seems impossible for
+a man of his great experience to have mistaken any other species of Whale
+for one of the <i>Balæninæ</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Of course, there still remains the question as to whether these Whales were
+the Greenland or Atlantic species, but I think the consideration of the circumstances
+under which they occurred, leaves no doubt what the reply must be.
+Captain Gray writes—“Until you began to question the identity of these
+Whales harpooned here in 1806, no one had ever had the smallest doubt of
+their being Greenland Whales,” and that had there been any marked
+difference in their appearance, it would have been at once noticed by such
+experienced men as those who captured the Whale at Peterhead; but he
+adds that “so far as the habits of the Greenland Whale are known, it is
+contrary to our experience that they should visit our shores at the season of
+the year at which these Whales were seen here, when we know that the
+Arctic Whale regularly disappears into the depths of the Polar ice towards
+the end of summer, where no ships or steamers can follow them.” It would
+naturally be expected that, towards the end of summer the Atlantic Whale
+would also be approaching the northern limit of its range, and this is precisely
+the season when all the Whales of this description, of which the date is given,
+appear to have occurred, except two in a much more southerly locality,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span>(their proper winter habitat) shortly to be mentioned. That the Peterhead
+men did not speak of any marked difference in the Whale which visited
+their Bay and those they had just returned from pursuing in the Polar ice
+may perhaps be accounted for partly by the similarity of the two species,
+and partly by their not having killed the adult individual; whilst the restless
+activity of the latter may possibly be due, not only to the presence of its
+young one, but, in part, to the superior activity of the Atlantic species, which
+is said to render it so much more dangerous and difficult to catch.</p>
+
+<p>But it may be said that if there be such a species, having a range, which
+in summer extends from the entrance of Davis’ Strait to Iceland and the
+North Cape, why are they not occasionally met with by the whalers in
+crossing the Atlantic to and from their more northern fishing grounds?
+Although such an encounter with a creature confessedly of rare occurrence
+would be in the highest degree improbable, still here again, through the
+kindness of Capt. Gray I am able to say that such encounters have taken
+place, and could we know the experience of all the whalers who have crossed
+the Atlantic, perhaps other instances might be put on record. Captain David
+Gray’s father told him that while mate to his father (Capt. David Gray’s
+grandfather), when crossing the Atlantic on the homeward voyage from
+Davis’ Strait, the vessel ran into a Greenland Whale (as he supposed it) and
+that he was anxious to lower some boats and go after it, but that his father
+would not allow him to do so, there being too much sea running at that time.
+This again would be in the summer season. It seems probable that not
+being aware of the existence of a Southern species of Right-Whale, or in
+consequence of the high sea which was running at the time, the Grays did
+not observe, or, at least, failed to mention, the peculiarities which distinguish
+the Atlantic species. But I am indebted to Capt. Gray for other instances
+of the occurrence of this species not far from Cape Farewell, and in at least
+one case the species was identified, the observer being aware of the existence
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span>of the Atlantic Whale, and the circumstances apparently favourable for close
+observation. On the 1st May, 1868, Capt. Alexander Murray, now commanding
+the S.S. “Windward,” at that time trading to South Greenland,
+in the “Sir Colin Campbell,” saw near Cape Farewell, several Right-Whales,
+close enough to distinguish their different features and general appearance.
+Capt. Murray remarks that, “they are a shorter Whale than the Greenland
+and much flatter in the crown;” he also noticed “Barnacles and grass near
+the blow-holes,” and states that from conversations he has had with American
+shipmasters employed in hunting these Whales, that these parasites are
+always present in this species, whereas the Greenland Whales are as invariably
+free from them. Capt. Murray adds that in 1867 three American
+whalers came into Cumberland Gulf, one having six, one three, and the other
+two Atlantic Whales on board, all of which were taken in the summer, a
+little to the eastward of Cape Farewell; and, finally, Capt. Gray’s brother,
+who commands the Hudson Bay Company’s Steamer, “Labrador,” told him
+that in June, 1879, he saw two of these Whales in lat. 57 N. and long. 33
+W.; they were close alongside, and the weather at the time calm: they went
+away in a south-westerly direction. It would seem, indeed, that this species
+is not at all an infrequent summer visitor to the open sea, lying to the east of
+Cape Farewell.</p>
+
+<p>Two recent instances of the occurrence of this species on the eastern side
+of the Atlantic are on record, both of which were met with in winter, and in
+the warmer latitudes of the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean Sea. On
+the 17th of January, 1854, a young one with its mother appeared in the
+harbour of St. Sebastian; the mother escaped, but the little one was caught,
+and a drawing of it made by Dr. Monedero (reproduced in Bell’s ‘Brit.
+Quad.,’ 2nd Edit. p. 387); the skeleton was preserved for the museum of
+Pampeluna, thence it was removed by Prof. Eschricht in 1858 to the Copenhagen
+Museum, for which he purchased it. Also, on the 9th February,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span>1877, a Whale was captured in the Gulf of Taranto, which has been referred
+to this species, and these, I believe, are the only specimens which have been
+taken in European waters of late years; it seems very probable, however, that
+the “Black-Whale” of the temperate shores of N. America (the <i>B. cisarctica</i>
+of Cope) is identical with <i>B. biscayensis</i>, and that, although extinct on the
+eastern side of the Atlantic, individuals from the American waters occasionally
+find their way into the European seas, where the race formerly existed as a
+native. The skeleton of the Taranto specimen is now in the Museum of
+Comparative Anatomy of the University of Naples, and M. F. Gasco states
+positively that “both the Taranto Whale and that of Philadelphia (<i>B.
+cisarctica</i>, Cope) belong to the species <i>B. biscayensis</i>, of Eschricht, which, for
+several centuries was pursued with avidity—I was going to say exterminated—throughout
+the temperate regions of the North Atlantic, first by the Basques,
+and then successively by the Saintongeois, the Normans, the Dutch (who
+called it <i>Nordkaper</i>), the Danes, Norwegians, English, and Americans.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_26_26" href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a>
+The cervical vertebræ in the British Museum, which form the type of Gray’s
+<i>Halibalæna britannica</i> are also believed to belong to this species.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Gray did not recognize <i>Balæna biscayensis</i> as a good species, and
+accounted for the absence of the Right-Whales, formerly found in British
+waters, from the disturbed state of the seas, owing to the great increase in
+traffic of ships, and especially steam-vessels, which, he said, “appears to
+restrict their visits, and especially their breeding, more to the Arctic portion;
+thus some Whales, which were formerly said to be common on the coast of
+Britain, as the Right-Whales, no longer visit this country.” Eschricht,
+however, as before stated, has clearly shown that the habits of the northern
+Right-Whale and localities frequented by them have remained unchanged
+for many years, as proved by the record kept at the whaling-stations established
+by the Danish government on the west coast of Greenland.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span></p>
+
+<p>It is worthy of remark, that in the Southern ocean there are said to be two
+species of Right-Whale, one <i>Caperea antipodorum</i> (Gray), not found further
+north than 40° south latitude; the other, <i>Eubalæna australis</i> (Gray), found as
+near the equator as 20° south latitude.</p>
+
+<p>The illustration at p. 60 is a reduced copy of the coloured plate in
+Capellini’s account of the Taranto Whale (<i>‘Della Balena di Taranto,’ G.
+Capellini, Bologna</i>, 1877), the original of which was a carefully-executed
+water-colour drawing, made from the animal itself.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+<h3 class="nobreak">
+  <i>BALÆNOPTERIDÆ.</i>
+</h3>
+</div>
+
+<h4>THE HUMP-BACKED WHALE.</h4>
+
+<p>The next family, <i>Balænopteridæ</i>, is represented by two genera, <i>Megaptera</i>
+and <i>Balænoptera</i>. Like the Right-whales, they all have two blow-holes, but
+may readily be distinguished by having the throat and belly curiously marked
+with longitudinal furrows, like the ribs in a worsted stocking: they also
+possess a well-defined dorsal fin.</p>
+
+<p>The <span class="smcap">Hump-backed Whale</span>, <i>Megaptera longimana</i> (Rudolphi), the only
+member of the first genus known to occur in the British seas, has been
+recorded at least three times; first at Newcastle in September, 1839, again in
+the estuary of the Dee, in 1863, and in Wick Bay, Caithnesshire, in March,
+1871. Capt. Gray tells me they are not uncommon off the east coast of
+Scotland in summer, and that he has known several captured off Peterhead,
+three having been brought in in one season. It is possible other examples
+may have been mistaken for Rorquals, from which this species may at once
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span>be distinguished externally by the great length of its flippers, which are
+white and very conspicuous.</p>
+
+<p>Herr Collett says that this species is met with every spring, on the
+northern coast of Norway, particularly in the Varanger Fjord; although
+generally occurring in small numbers, it is occasionally found in great
+quantities. On one occasion a steam vessel was surrounded by them as far
+as the eye could see, and great care had to be used to avoid running against
+them. South of the polar circle, he says it only occurs in small numbers.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_27_27" href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a>
+In August, 1880, Capt. Gray saw vast numbers of these Whales about one
+hundred miles N.E. of Iceland; the sea, he states, seemed to be quite full of
+them as far as he could see from the mast-head. They were accompanied
+by a small species of “Finner,” with a white band across the fin (<i>B. rostrata</i>).</p>
+
+<p>The total length of the animal is about 45 to 50 feet, its baleen is
+black, and the flippers, which are white and notched at the edge, from 10
+to 14 feet in length.</p>
+
+
+<h5>THE COMMON RORQUAL.</h5>
+
+<p>To the genus <i>Balænoptera</i> belong the Rorquals or Fin-whales, the first
+species of which is the <span class="smcap">Common Rorqual</span>, <i>Balænoptera musculus</i> (Linn.), the
+<i>Balænoptera boops</i> of Bell’s first edition, and <i>Physalus antiquorum</i> of Gray.
+This is a much more active animal than the Right-whale; it is difficult of
+approach, and, upon being harpooned, such is the velocity with which it
+shoots through the water that the danger is very great; Scoresby mentions
+one which took out 480 fathoms of line in about one minute. In addition to
+this, the whalebone is short and of little value, and the yield of oil small; it
+is therefore avoided by the whalers, as more dangerous than profitable, and
+if struck at all, it is most likely a case of mistaken identity. From the port
+of Vadsö, however, the capture of this, and the species immediately preceding
+and following, is now successfully effected by means of an explosive shell or
+harpoon, which kills them at once. This fishery was established about the
+year 1865, by Herr Svend Foyn, from Tonsberg, and is still very successfully
+prosecuted, as many as 50 Whales being obtained each summer; they
+are towed into Vadsö, where the blubber is refined and the carcase made into
+manure.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p071" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p071.jpg" alt="Common Rorqual">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 14. <span class="smcap">Common Rorqual</span> (<i>Balænoptera musculus</i>, Linn.)</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a><a id="Page_73"></a>[Pg 73]</span></p>
+
+<p>The habitat of the Common Rorqual is the temperate Northern seas, from
+the Mediterranean, which it sometimes enters, to the 70° north latitude, and
+sometimes even farther north still. Nordenskiöld, in the ‘Œolus,’ last saw
+Finners on the 18th May, 1861, in lat. 75° 45′, the temperature of the water
+being between 2·50° and 3·8° C., and they were not again seen until the
+return of the expedition in September, in 78° north latitude, the temperature
+of the water being then about 3·8° C. He remarks, “It is probable that
+‘Finners’ never live in colder water than this, and that the northern limit of
+their distribution coincides with sea of this temperature. It has to be kept
+in view, however, that this boundary line lies several degrees further to the
+north in summer than in winter.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_28_28" href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a></p>
+
+<p>The range of this group is very great, and, according to Andrew Murray,
+it would appear that one or more of the Balænopteridæ is found over the
+whole world, although it is by no means certain that any particular species
+has a very wide geographical range. <i>Megaptera longimana</i>, which occurs in
+the North Sea, was also supposed to have been met with at the Cape, but Dr.
+Gray has pointed out differences in the cervical vertebræ of an individual from
+that locality, which he considers constitute distinct specific characters; on the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span>other hand, a Fin-whale from Java so closely resembles our <i>Balænoptera
+laticeps</i> that Professor Flower, after the most careful examination and comparison
+almost bone by bone, hesitates to pronounce it distinct, and only
+separates it provisionally. In our own seas this species is of frequent
+occurrence, more especially on the Scotch coast, where it appears in the early
+autumn, attracted by the shoals of herring which abound there at that season.
+In feeding, the Rorquals are not so restricted to minute marine animals as
+the Right-Whale, but devour large quantities of fish of various sizes, from
+herrings up to cod. In the stomach of the Newcastle Humpbacked Whale
+(the species mentioned immediately before the present one) were found six
+cormorants, but a seventh, found in its throat, was supposed to have caused
+its death by choking it. The blowing is accompanied by a loud noise, which,
+on a still night, may be heard at a considerable distance. It was formerly
+supposed that in “blowing” the Whale ejected from its nostrils a very considerable
+quantity of water, which might be seen to spout up into the air
+like a fountain; and in the performance of this remarkable feat they were
+generally depicted. Beale, however, in his ‘Natural History of the Sperm
+Whale,’ as early as 1838, showed that this is not the case, and the truth of his
+observations is now generally acknowledged. The power so to eject water
+taken into its capacious mouth is, of course, impossible, the blow-hole being in
+direct communication with the lungs, and not with the cavity of the mouth, nor
+would it be of any service to the Whalebone-Whales, as the very purpose of
+the baleen is to form a screening apparatus through which the water is ejected,
+leaving its minute prey behind; and in the toothed Whales it would not be
+required. What appears like a jet of water is, in reality, dense vapour—in
+fact, the breath issuing from the lungs of the animal, highly charged with
+moisture, which becomes condensed upon exposure to the atmosphere. It
+often happens, too, that the Whale lets off the imprisoned air just before the
+blow-hole reaches the surface of the water, or that a wave passes over it at
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span>the moment of respiration, the water is thus dashed aside by the blast, and,
+probably, some of it really carried up into the air, thus heightening the
+deceptive effect.</p>
+
+<p>This species, when adult, reaches the length of about 70 feet, the upper
+part is black, the throat and belly white and plaited, the flippers black. The
+baleen is short and slate colour, veined with streaks of darker shade, but
+growing lighter towards the inner edge.</p>
+
+<p>Dead Whales, when stranded on the shore, after floating long at sea, are
+generally greatly distended with gas, which generates rapidly in the tissues
+after decomposition has set in; in such an inflated condition only a very
+imperfect conception can be formed of the true proportions of the vast beast.
+There is frequently, also, a great protrusion of membrane from the mouth,
+arising from the same cause, and other appearances in the male animal, due
+to the pressure of gas in the abdominal cavity are generally faithfully portrayed
+in old books of Natural History.</p>
+
+<p>A Whale of this species, taken off the North coast of Scotland, in April,
+1880, was purchased by an enterprising individual in Birmingham, to which
+town it was conveyed by rail, and there exhibited: probably, this was the
+greatest distance from the sea at which an entire Cetacean, 63 feet in length,
+had ever been seen.</p>
+
+<p>The figure of this species is copied, by kind permission of Professor Flower,
+from the illustration to his paper in the ‘Proceedings of the Zoological Society
+of London’ for 1869, p. 604, <i>et. seq.</i></p>
+
+
+<h5>SIBBALD’S RORQUAL.</h5>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Sibbald’s Rorqual</span> (<i>Balænoptera sibbaldii</i>, J. E. Gray; also <i>Sibbaldius
+borealis</i>, Gray, and <i>Physalus latirostris</i>, Flower), has several times been met with
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span>in British waters, particularly on the east coast of Scotland. It is the largest of
+this gigantic family, measuring from 80 to perhaps 100 feet in length. One
+seen by Herr Foyn he estimated at the enormous length of 133 English feet!
+The famous “Ostend Whale,” which was found floating dead in the North
+Sea, in 1827, and taken into Ostend, belonged to this species; its skeleton
+was long exhibited in this country, and afterwards in America. Dr. Gray
+says it is now in St. Petersburg, and gives the total length as 102 feet; as,
+however, several of the vertebræ are missing, the exact length is uncertain.
+Professor Turner gives the length of a specimen stranded in the Firth of
+Forth as 78 feet 9 inches, and the girth behind the flippers about 45 feet:
+this animal was gravid, but notwithstanding this fact, the bulk must have been
+enormous.</p>
+
+<p>Herr Rt. Collett, in his ‘Norges Pattedyrfauna,’ gives a very full account
+of this species, as observed by him on the Norwegian coast. In June, 1874, he
+had the opportunity of visiting Herr Svend Foyn’s establishment for whale-catching,
+at Vadsö, and in addition to being enabled to examine three
+individuals of this species in a fresh state, received much information as to
+their habits from Herr Foyn and the men engaged in the fishery. This
+Whale, from its colour, is known by the fishers as the “Blue Whale,” and
+appears to have its home in winter in the open seas, between the North Cape
+and Spitsbergen. By the end of April or beginning of May it approaches the
+coast, entering the larger Fjords towards the end of the latter month, to
+feast upon the enormous quantities of <i>Thysanopoda inermis</i>, then found
+there; it is also seen in summer along the coast from Loffoden to the North
+Cape, and further to the eastward. When the wind is on the land or in any
+stormy weather, it seeks the open sea. Varanger Fjord is the favourite
+hunting-ground for this species, and in the last few years the average number
+taken there has been thirty; in 1874, as many as 42 were taken: it leaves
+the Fjord, however, should stormy weather set in. No specimen examined
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span>by Herr Collett, or Professor Sars, had taken any other food than
+<i>Thysanopoda inermis</i>, and Herr Foyn and his catchers are all of opinion
+that they do not eat fish. To obtain the little Crustacean on which they
+feed and which is found congregated in separate masses, the Whale passes
+backwards and forwards with its mouth open, till the cavity is well filled,
+it then closes its capacious jaws upon the contents. Herr Collett found two
+or three barrels of these small crustaceans in the stomach of a Blue Whale
+which he examined, and was told that a large one would consume as much
+as ten barrels.</p>
+
+<p>The female appears, as a rule, to be longer than the male; the young are
+born about the autumn, one appears to be the usual number, but two young
+ones have more than once been seen with the same old female.</p>
+
+<p>This species may be known by its low dorsal fin, black baleen, and long
+flippers, which are black above and whitish below: this should be borne in
+mind, as it is not at all improbable that some, at least, of the enormous
+cetaceans which are occasionally reported from the North of Scotland, belong
+to this species; so very unsatisfactory, however, are the reports which appear
+in print, that it is rarely a single feature is mentioned by which the species
+may be determined.</p>
+
+
+<h5>RUDOLPHI’S RORQUAL.</h5>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Rudolphi’s Rorqual</span> (<i>Balænoptera laticeps</i>, J. E. Gray) is a small
+species which may readily be mistaken for the Lesser Rorqual. A Whale
+stranded at Charmouth in February, 1840, and described by Mr. Yarrell,
+under the name of <i>Balænoptera boops</i>, in the proceedings of the Zoological
+Society for that year, is believed to have been of this species, but the
+skeleton, although prepared at the time, is supposed to have been sold and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span>converted into manure. The same individual is recorded under the name of
+<i>B. tenuirostris</i>, in the Mag. of Nat. History, iv., 1840, p. 342, by Mr. R. H.
+Sweeting. Very little is known about the history or distribution of this
+species; the flippers are entirely black above, wanting the white band found
+in the next species, and the baleen is believed to be black.</p>
+
+
+<h5>LESSER RORQUAL.</h5>
+
+<p>The next and last of the Whalebone-Whales which we know to have
+occurred in the British Seas is the <span class="smcap">Lesser Rorqual</span> (<i>Balænoptera rostrata</i>,
+Fab.; <i>Rorqualus minor</i>, Knox), (Fig. 15). Many individuals of this species
+have been obtained on various parts of the coast, from Cornwall to the North
+of Scotland. On the coast of Norway it is frequently met with, and is there
+called the “Bay-Whale,” from its habit of entering bays and estuaries; this
+habit the natives take advantage of for its destruction. Stretching a strong
+net across the inlet, they cut off its escape, and put a cruel and often protracted
+end to its existence with harpoons and arrows, the poor Whale sometimes
+lingering from eight to fourteen days. This species is also known as the
+“Summer-Whale,” and does not appear to be so strictly a northern species as
+the Balænopteridæ generally are: it is believed, like the Common Rorqual,
+to have been taken in the Mediterranean. A Whale of this species, taken at
+Mevagissey, in Cornwall, at the end of April, 1880, was conveyed to London,
+and there exhibited in the Old Kent Road.</p>
+
+<p>The Lesser Rorqual, from its small size (not exceeding 30 feet), is not
+liable to be mistaken for any other species except the preceding (Rudolphi’s
+Rorqual), and from that it may be distinguished by the broad white band
+across its black flipper; the baleen also is nearly white, which is another good
+distinction. The figure of this species is copied from the illustration to an
+article by Messrs. Carte and Macalister, on the Anatomy of <i>Balænoptera
+rostrata</i>, in the ‘Philosophical Transactions’ of the Royal Society for 1868,
+vol. clviii.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p079" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p079.jpg" alt="Lesser Rorqual">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 15. <span class="smcap">Lesser Rorqual</span> (<i>Balænoptera rostrata</i>, Fab.)</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a><a id="Page_81"></a>[Pg 81]</span></p>
+
+<p>In the table on the next page I have endeavoured to give the most
+striking external peculiarities of our British <i>Mystacoceti</i>. They are easily remembered,
+and will be useful in identifying specimens, should no authority
+be at hand. The table also indicates the external points to be observed by a
+person not acquainted with this class of animals, and is most serviceable to
+enable others to identify doubtful specimens.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span></p>
+
+<p class="center p2" style="font-weight: bold;">
+TABLE OF DIFFERENCES OF BRITISH MYSTACOCETI (WHALEBONE WHALES).
+</p>
+
+
+<table class="autotable" style="border: solid;">
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdc" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Colour.</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+<td class="tdc" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Baleen.</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">Species.</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"> Upper Part.</td>
+<td class="tdc">Under Part.</td>
+<td class="tdc">Belly and Throat.</td>
+<td class="tdc">Flippers.</td>
+<td class="tdc"> Dorsal Fin.</td>
+<td class="tdc">Length.</td>
+<td class="tdc">Colour.</td>
+<td class="tdc"> Total Length.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"><i>Balæna mysticetus</i>, Greenland Right-Whale  </td>
+<td class="tdc">Dark grey</td>
+<td class="tdc">Throat white</td>
+<td class="tdc">Smooth</td>
+<td class="tdc">Black</td>
+<td class="tdc">None</td>
+<td class="tdc">Long and narrow; 10 or 12 feet</td>
+<td class="tdc">Blackish grey</td>
+<td class="tdc">50 or 60 feet</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"><i>Balæna biscayensis</i>, Atlantic Right-Whale </td>
+<td class="tdc">Uniform black</td>
+<td class="tdc">Uniform black</td>
+<td class="tdc">Smooth</td>
+<td class="tdc">Black</td>
+<td class="tdc">None</td>
+<td class="tdc">Shorter than the above</td>
+<td class="tdc">...</td>
+<td class="tdc">40 feet (?)</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"><i>Megaptera longimana</i>, Humpbacked Whale  </td>
+<td class="tdc">Black and white</td>
+<td class="tdc">Black (plicæ)</td>
+<td class="tdc">Plaited</td>
+<td class="tdc">Wholly white, about 12 ft. long and notched at the edge</td>
+<td class="tdc">Very low</td>
+<td class="tdc">Short</td>
+<td class="tdc">Black</td>
+<td class="tdc">About 50 feet</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"><i>Balænoptera musculus</i>, Common Rorqual    </td>
+<td class="tdc">Black</td>
+<td class="tdc">White</td>
+<td class="tdc">Plaited</td>
+<td class="tdc">Black</td>
+<td class="tdc">Distinct</td>
+<td class="tdc">Short</td>
+<td class="tdc">Slate colour—shaded lighter to inner edge</td>
+<td class="tdc">About 70 feet</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"><i>Balænoptera sibbaldii</i>, Sibbald’s Rorqual  </td>
+<td class="tdc">Black</td>
+<td class="tdc">Slate grey</td>
+<td class="tdc">Plaited</td>
+<td class="tdc">Dark above, White beneath, 12 feet or more long</td>
+<td class="tdc">Very low</td>
+<td class="tdc">Short</td>
+<td class="tdc">Rich black</td>
+<td class="tdc">80 to 100 feet</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"><i>Balænoptera laticeps</i>, Rudolphi’s Rorqual</td>
+<td class="tdc">Black</td>
+<td class="tdc">White</td>
+<td class="tdc">Plaited</td>
+<td class="tdc">Upper part black</td>
+<td class="tdc">?</td>
+<td class="tdc">Short</td>
+<td class="tdc">Black (?)</td>
+<td class="tdc">30 or 40 feet</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc"><i>Balænoptera rostrata</i>, Lesser Rorqual </td>
+<td class="tdc">Black</td>
+<td class="tdc">White</td>
+<td class="tdc">Plaited</td>
+<td class="tdc">Black, with broad band of white across</td>
+<td class="tdc">High</td>
+<td class="tdc">Short</td>
+<td class="tdc">Yellowish white</td>
+<td class="tdc">25 to 30 feet</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a><a id="Page_84"></a>[Pg 84]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p084" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p084.jpg" alt="Sperm Whale">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 16. Sperm Whale (<i>Physeter macrocephalus</i>, Linn.)</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak p2" id="ODONTOCETI_TOOTHED_WHALES">
+  ODONTOCETI (TOOTHED WHALES).
+</h2>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak">
+  <i>PHYSETERIDÆ.</i>
+</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>The second sub-order into which the Cetacea are divided, is the
+<i>Odontoceti</i>, or Toothed Whales. In this section, baleen is never present, but
+well-developed teeth are found in one or both jaws of the adult; in some
+species they are very numerous; sometimes, though rarely, deciduous. The
+blow-hole is single, and the skull generally asymmetrical, or not precisely
+alike on both sides of the medial line. Professor Flower divides the
+<i>Odontoceti</i> into three families, one of which, the <i>Platanistidæ</i>, as already said,
+is found only in India and South America: the other two, <i>Physeteridæ</i>
+and <i>Delphinidæ</i>, are represented in our Fauna by about fifteen species.</p>
+
+<p>Of the <i>Physeteridæ</i>, four genera are represented in the British fauna
+by four or five species; namely, one <i>Physeter</i>, the Sperm Whale; two
+<i>Hyperoodon</i>, the common Beaked Whale, and a doubtful species called the
+Broad-fronted Beaked Whale; one <i>Ziphius</i>, Cuvier’s Whale; and one
+<i>Mesoplodon</i>, Sowerby’s Whale.</p>
+
+
+<h4>SPERM WHALE, OR CACHELOT.</h4>
+
+<p>By far the most conspicuous species of this interesting group is the <span class="smcap">Sperm
+Whale</span>, <i>Physeter macrocephalus</i> (Linnæus), which rivals the Right-Whale in
+commercial importance, and in the value of its products. This species has a
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span>very wide geographical range, having been found in almost every sea between
+lat. 60° north and 60° south. The attempt has been made, I think unsuccessfully,
+to show that the Sperm Whale of the Southern Hemisphere is distinct
+from that of the northern; there seems, however, no reason, at present, to doubt,
+although, of course, it may eventually be found otherwise, that the same
+species of Sperm Whale ranges over the whole of this vast tract of ocean.
+North of about 40° it appears to be only a straggler, and although the Arctic
+seas are almost always stated by authors to be its head-quarters, very few
+well-authenticated instances of its occurrence farther north than Scotland are
+on record; Lilljeborg excludes it from his account of the Scandinavian
+Cetacea, but Herr Collett says that within the last 100 years, at least two
+individuals of this species have been stranded on the Norwegian coast, and
+that Professor Sars, during a stay in Loffoden, received information which
+convinced him that one was seen there in the summer of 1865.</p>
+
+<p>From the middle of the sixteenth to the middle of the seventeenth century,
+the stranding of individuals of this species on the coast of Great Britain, and,
+indeed, of other countries in Europe from the Netherlands to the Mediterranean,
+was by no means a rare occurrence; these were generally solitary
+males, but occasionally small “schools” were met with, as in July, 1577, in
+the Scheldt, where three were taken; also, at Hunstanton, in Norfolk, in
+1646, mentioned below.</p>
+
+<p>Of its occurrence on the British coast there are numerous instances; in all
+cases, however, they are believed by Andrew Murray to have been stragglers,
+“which have rounded Cape Horn (they have never been known to double the
+Cape of Good Hope) or unpromising colonies, for they are becoming scarcer
+and scarcer in more than their due proportion.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_29_29" href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> Eight or ten individuals of
+this species have occurred on the coast of Scotland between the years 1689
+and 1871 (Alston, ‘Fauna of Scot.’, p. 18).</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figleft illowp30" id="i_p087_1" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p087_1.jpg" alt="Chair in Great Yarmouth Church">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 17. Chair in Great Yarmouth Church,
+    formed from the basal portion of
+    the skull of the Sperm Whale.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure class="figright illowp30" id="i_p087_2" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p087_2.jpg" alt="Back view of the same.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 18. Back view of the same.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p style="clear: both;">In the church of St. Nicholas, at Great Yarmouth, is the basal portion of
+a skull of this animal, which has been converted into a chair: it formerly
+stood outside the church, and of course, as it was an object of wonder, it was
+relegated to the powers of darkness, and <i>christened</i> (?) the “Devil’s Seat;”
+it has, however, now been admitted into mother church, and stands beside
+the north-west door under the clock. In the churchwardens’ accounts for
+1606 there is a charge of 8s. for painting this chair, which clearly proves its
+antiquity. In a letter to Sir Thomas Browne (Wilkins’ edit., 1852, editor’s
+preface to “Pseudodoxia,” vol. i. p. lxxxi.), Sir Hamon L’Estrange writes
+that in June, 1626, a Whale, afterwards referred to by Sir T. Browne as a
+Sperm Whale (vol. iii. p. 324), was cast upon his shore or sea-liberty, “some-tyme
+parcel of the possessions of the Abbey of Ramsey, &amp;c.” The same
+author, in his account of the “Fishes found in Norfolk and on the Coast,”
+says, “A Spermaceti Whale of 62 feet long [came on shore] near Wells,
+another of the same kind twenty years before at Hunstanton [the one referred
+to by Sir H. L’Estrange]; and not far off, eight or nine came ashore,
+and two had young ones after they were forsaken by the water.” The Whale
+mentioned by Sir H. L’Estrange came on shore in 1626; twenty years after
+would give 1646 as the date of the Wells specimen; and in December of that
+year, according to Booth’s “History of Norfolk,” published in 1781 (vol. ix.
+p. 33), “A great Whale was cast on the shore here [at Holme-next-the-Sea],
+the wind blowing strongly at the north-west, 57 feet long, the breadth of the
+nose-end eight feet, from nose-end to the eye 15½ feet; the eyes about the
+same bigness as those of an ox, the lower chap closed and shut about four
+feet short of the upper; this lower chap narrow towards the end, and therein
+were 46 teeth like the tusks of an elephant; the upper one had no teeth, but
+sockets of bones to receive the teeth: two small fins only, one on each side,
+and a short small fin on the back; it was a male ...; the breadth of
+the tail, from one outward tip to the other, was 13½ feet. The profit made
+of it was £217 6s. 7d., and the charge in cutting it up and managing it came
+to £100 or more.” It seems probable that a “school” got bewildered in the
+shallow waters of the Wash, and that the individual of which Booth gives
+such an excellent description, formed one of the same party as the eight or
+nine mentioned by Sir T. Browne. In May, 1652, Mr. Arthur Bacon writes to
+Sir T. Browne about the Sperm Whale cast on shore at Yarmouth, but the
+actual date of the occurrence is not given. Since these ancient records, many
+others have occurred at intervals, singly or in small parties, on various parts
+of the coast; the last instance, I believe, being in July, 1871, when one was
+stranded on the shore of the Isle of Skye.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p088" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p088.jpg" alt="Skeleton of the Sperm Whale">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 19. <span class="smcap">Skeleton of the Sperm Whale</span> (after Flower).</p>
+      <p>s, Spermaceti Cavity; n, Nasal Passage, in dotted line; b, Blow-hole.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span></p>
+
+<p>Of the osteology of the Sperm Whale, Professor Flower has given an
+exhaustive description in a paper published in the ‘Transactions’ of the
+Zoological Society, vol. vi., and of its habits a very interesting account is
+given by Thomas Beale, who, in the capacity of surgeon on board ships
+employed in the South Sea fishery, had unusual opportunities of observing
+this remarkable animal. He published a book entitled ‘The Natural History
+of the Sperm Whale,’ to which I am largely indebted for what I shall have
+to say about this species.</p>
+
+<p>The colour of the Sperm Whale is black above and grey beneath, the
+colours gradually shading into each other. The full-grown male is about
+sixty feet long; the females are much smaller and more slender than the
+males. The head, which constitutes more than one-third of the whole of the
+animal, presents a very remarkable appearance, the truncated form of the
+snout looking as though it were cut off at right angles to the body: at the
+upper angle is situated the single blow-hole. The juncture of the head with
+the body is the thickest portion, and the body decreases little in size till the
+“hump,” which is situated in the place of the dorsal fin, is reached; from this
+point it rapidly diminishes to the tail. The flukes of the tail are from twelve
+to fourteen feet in breadth, and the two flippers each about six feet long.
+The under jaw is pointed, and about two feet shorter than the upper; it is
+furnished with about twenty-five large conical teeth on each side; but the
+number is not constant, nor is it always the same on each side. In the upper
+jaw are no visible teeth, but those of the lower jaw shut into corresponding
+depressions in the upper. The tongue is small, and, like the lining of the
+mouth, of a white colour. The upper part of the head, called the “case,”
+contains the “spermaceti,” which upon the death of the animal granulates
+into a yellowish substance. Beale says that a large Whale not unfrequently
+contains a ton of spermaceti. Beneath the “case” is situated the “junk,”
+which consists of a dense cellular mass, containing oil and spermaceti. The
+blubber is about fourteen inches thick on the breast, and in most other parts
+of the body from eight to eleven inches. By the whalers this covering is
+called the “blanket.” With regard to the apparently ungainly head of the
+Sperm Whale, Beale remarks as follows:—“One of the peculiarities of the
+Sperm Whale, which strikes at first sight every beholder, is the apparently
+disproportionate and unwieldy bulk of the head; but this peculiarity, instead
+of being, as might be supposed, an impediment to the freedom of the animal’s
+motion in its native element, is, in fact, on the contrary, in some respects, very
+conducive to its lightness and agility, if such a term can with propriety be
+applied to such an enormous creature; for a great part of the bulk of the
+head is made up of a thin membranous case, containing, during life, a thin
+oil, of much less specific gravity than water, below which is again the junk,
+which, although heavier than the spermaceti, is still lighter than the element
+in which the Whale moves; consequently, the head, taken as a whole, is
+lighter specifically than any other part of the body, and will always have a
+tendency to rise at least so far above the surface as to elevate the nostril or
+“blow-hole” sufficiently for all purposes of respiration; and more than this, a
+very slight effort on the part of the fish would only be necessary to raise the
+whole of the anterior flat surface of the nose out of the water. In case the
+animal should wish to increase his speed to the utmost, the narrow inferior
+surface, which has been before stated to bear some resemblance to the cutwater
+of a ship, and which would, in fact, answer the same purpose to the
+Whale, would be the only part exposed to the pressure of the water in front,
+enabling him thus to pass with the greatest celerity and ease through the
+boundless track of his wide domain.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_30_30" href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a> When swimming at ease, the Sperm
+Whale keeps just below the surface of the water, and goes at about three
+or four miles an hour; but on an emergency it is able to attain a speed
+of ten or twelve miles an hour: it then progresses by means of powerful
+lateral strokes of its tail, and alternately rises and sinks at each stroke. In
+progressing in this manner, the blunt anterior surface of the head never
+presents itself directly to the water; the animal’s body being in an oblique
+position, it is only the angle formed by the inferior surface which first presents
+itself, and this, which Beale likens to the “cutwater” of a ship, offers the least
+possible amount of resistance.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p090" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p090.jpg" alt="Skull of Sperm Whale">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 20. <span class="smcap">Skull of Sperm Whale.</span></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span></p>
+
+<p>When undisturbed, the Sperm Whale rises to the surface to breathe
+about once every hour. Beale says the regularity with which every action
+connected with its breathing is performed is remarkable; the time occupied
+differs slightly in each individual, but each one is minutely regular
+in the performance of every action connected with respiration, so that
+the whalers know how long it will remain beneath the surface before reappearing
+to renew its supply of air. A full-grown “bull,” he says, remains
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span>at the surface ten or eleven minutes, during which he makes sixty or seventy
+expirations; after which he disappears, to return again to the surface in one
+hour and ten minutes. The blowing is not accompanied by any sound, and
+notwithstanding the wonderful accounts of its roarings and bellowings, the
+Sperm Whale may be said to be an absolutely silent animal. The females
+and young males are gregarious, but are found in separate herds or “schools,”
+as they are called. A “school” will sometimes consist of five or six hundred
+individuals. The herds of females are always accompanied by from one to
+three large “bulls;” but the full-grown males are said to be generally solitary
+in their habits, except on certain occasions, when it is supposed they are
+migrating from one feeding-place to another. The majority of those which
+occur on our coast are these solitary males; when they visit us in herds, as
+mentioned by Sir Thomas Browne, they are all probably females or young
+males. The “bulls” are very fierce and jealous, and fight fiercely. The
+females show great attachment to each other and to their young, so much so
+that, one being wounded, the others of the herd remain and fall a comparatively
+easy prey. The young males, on the other hand, are very wary and
+difficult of approach, and should one be attacked, the others immediately take
+the alarm and retreat. The female produces one young one, rarely two, at a
+time, and breeds at all seasons of the year. Their senses of sight and hearing
+are very acute, and after being once unsuccessfully attacked, they are very
+difficult and dangerous to approach.</p>
+
+<p>The food of the Sperm Whale consists almost entirely of Cephalopode
+Mollusks (cuttlefish), although at times, when feeding near the shore, it has
+been known to take fish as large as salmon. How it contrives to capture such
+active prey as fish seems difficult to conceive. Beale is of opinion that the
+Whale sinks to a proper depth in the sea, where remaining as quiet as
+possible, and opening wide its mouth, the prey are attracted by the glistening
+white colour of its lining membrane, curiosity leading them to destruction;
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span>for no sooner have a sufficient number entered his mouth than the Whale
+rapidly closes his under jaw, and they are made prisoners, and swallowed.</p>
+
+<p>The pursuit of the Sperm Whale is attended with much greater danger
+than that of the Greenland Whale, and Beale gives many instances in which,
+in his own experience, boats were stove in and men lost; stories of fighting
+Whales, he says, are numerous, and probably much exaggerated; one, known
+as “Timor Jack,” is said to have destroyed every boat sent against him, till
+at last he was killed by approaching him from several directions at the same
+time, his attention thus being diverted from the boat which made the successful
+attack. Another fish, known as “New Zealand Tom,” destroyed nine boats
+successively before breakfast, and when eventually captured, after destroying
+many other boats, many harpoons from the various ships which had attacked
+him were found sticking in his body. There is one well-authenticated instance
+of a vessel being attacked and destroyed by a Sperm Whale: the American
+whale-ship <i>Essex</i> was attacked by one, which, first passing under the vessel,
+probably by accident, came in contact with her keel and carried it away:
+then turning and rushing furiously upon the ship, the Whale stove in her
+bow; so serious was the breach that the vessel speedily filled and went down.
+Most of the crew were away in their boats at the time, but those on board
+had just time to launch their one remaining boat before the vessel sank. The
+boats made for the coast of Peru, the nearest land, many hundreds of miles
+distant; one of them was picked up drifting at sea, and three of the crew,
+who were found in it in a state of insensibility, were the only survivors of the
+ill-fated vessel.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the sperm and oil, this species yields another product which
+is, or was, very valuable, although it is the result of disease, and one would
+imagine a very uninviting substance—I refer to <i>Ambergris</i>, the origin and
+composition of which was so long a puzzle to the learned. This substance is
+now well known to be a concretion of the indigestible portions of the Cuttlefish,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span>which form the food of the Sperm Whale. The nucleus of the mass is
+generally the horny beaks of these creatures, and the substance itself is found
+in the intestines of the Sperm Whale, or on the shores of the seas frequented
+by this species: no other Whale is known to be subject to these bezoars. It
+was formerly believed that the origin of ambergris was in some way connected
+with the sea, and when it was afterwards found in Whales, the fact was simply
+attributed to their having swallowed it. Sir Thomas Browne writes of the
+Sperm Whale which came on shore at Wells, in 1646:—“In vain was it to
+rake for ambergriese in the paunch of this leviathan, as Greenland discoverers
+and attests of experience dictate that they sometimes swallow great lumps
+thereof in the sea; insufferable fœtor denying that inquiry; and yet if, as
+Paracelsus encourageth, ordure makes the best musk, and from the most
+fœtid substances may be drawn the most odoriferous essences; all that had
+not Vespasian’s nose (<i>Cui odor lucri ex re qualibet</i>) might boldly swear here
+was a subject fit for such extractions” (vol. i., p. 356). It was not until 1783,
+in a paper read before the Royal Society by Dr. Swediaur, that a scientific
+account of the origin of ambergris was made known. At the present time
+its medical virtues, which were formerly considered very great, are altogether
+at a discount, and the only use to which it is applied is in the preparation of
+perfumery.</p>
+
+<p>The South Sea whale-fishery was long prosecuted by the Americans
+before the British ships took part in it, from 1771 to 1775 Massachusetts is
+said by McCulloch to have had 121 vessels in this trade; about the beginning
+of the American war, however, the English also sent out ships, and in 1791
+had 75 vessels engaged in the South Seas. The number of British ships, as
+with those employed in the northern fisheries, varied considerably, influenced
+probably by the varying amounts of bounty offered by the Government, but
+never exceeded 75; in 1815 they had fallen off to 22; in 1820 they again
+rose to 68, from which they gradually fell to 31 in 1829, all of which sailed from
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span>the port of London. Beale sailed from London, in 1831, in the “Kent,”
+returning in the “Sarah and Elizabeth,” both of which vessels belonged to
+Thomas Sturge. The duration of the voyage was from two to four or even
+five years, the average of 199 voyages being three years and three months,
+and the yield of oil, 169 tons per voyage. At the present time no British
+vessels are engaged in the South Sea trade, which has again reverted to the
+Americans.</p>
+
+<p>I have said very little about the method of pursuit and capture of this
+species, and of the Right-Whale, because it is a subject in which I take no
+pleasure; those who wish to know how these peaceful and highly-organised
+giants are approached, and how they behave when terrified and smarting
+under the harpoon and whale-lance, can pursue the subject <i>ad nauseam</i> in the
+pages of Scoresby, Beale, and others; the sickening process of “flensing”
+and disposing of the blubber is described with equal minuteness. The halo
+of romance with which some authors seek to surround the whale-fishery, is,
+doubtless, in a great measure due to the solitary and distant fields of
+operation, whether it be in the frozen regions of the north, or the vast and
+trackless oceans of the south, but its stern reality is prosaic enough. The
+occupation is one of hardship and danger, but the remuneration when successful
+is large in proportion, and I can hardly conceive, under any circumstances,
+of men inflicting the fearful amount of suffering which every “full” whale-ship,
+or in a still greater degree every “full” sealer, represents. Science
+is constantly adding to our resources, and it is sincerely to be hoped that ere
+long substitutes may be found for animal oil and whalebone which will
+supersede their use in the few processes in which they are still requisite:
+should this be long delayed, it is to be feared that the Seals and Whales, at
+least of the northern seas, will soon cease to exist. In the meantime, it is
+gratifying to find that it is from the sealers and whalers themselves that the
+demand for the better regulation of the trade has emanated, and the name of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span>Captain David Gray, of Peterhead, stands prominent amongst those who have
+urged upon the governments of this and other countries concerned, such
+regulations as shall insure greater humanity in its prosecution, and prevent
+the wasteful destruction which, if continued, must speedily ruin a valuable
+source of commercial enterprise.</p>
+
+<p>Although so widely spread over the waters of the globe, possessing, I
+believe, a range greater than any other known mammal, it is only open
+and deep waters which can be said to be the home of the Sperm Whale;
+when found in shallow seas, its generally emaciated condition indicates
+the absence of its proper nourishment; and the readiness with which whole
+herds precipitate themselves stupidly upon the sands, shows how little they
+are acquainted with such objects. Mr. Andrew Murray makes some observations
+upon this subject, which are so interesting and so suggestive that I
+cannot resist making a long quotation.</p>
+
+<p>Speaking of those specimens which have now and then been cast ashore
+in the North Atlantic or in the English seas, he says: “They seem to be
+unprepared for, or not adapted for, shallow seas. Accustomed (perhaps not
+individually, but by hereditary practice or instinct) to swim along the coral
+islands of the Pacific within a stone’s throw from the shore, they cannot
+understand, their instinct is not prepared to meet, shallow coasts and projecting
+headlands. If they were habitual residents in our seas, they must
+either be speedily extirpated, learn more caution, or be developed into a new
+species.” ... Mr. Murray further says: “I observe that almost every place
+that has been above mentioned as a favourite resort of the Sperm Whales,
+although not out of soundings, has claims to be considered the site of submerged
+land. The islands in the Polynesia, which are its special feeding-ground,
+are the beacons left by the submerged Pacific continent. In pure
+deep seas animal life is usually scarce, and the absence of breeding-ground is
+probably the chief cause of it; but this only applies to a certain kind of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span>animals, those which require a bottom on which to deposit their spawn; but
+there are many which do not require this. The spawn of some floats about
+unattached; for others a frond of weed is sufficient attachment; and it has
+occurred to me that the distribution of the Sperm Whale may in some way
+be connected with the geological antecedents of the ocean it inhabits. I
+think it not improbable that the site of a submerged land may swarm with
+life, which originally proceeded, or was dependent on it, long after it had been
+in the deep bosom of the ocean buried. The Sargasso seas, which swarm
+with <i>Eolidæ</i> and <i>Crustacea</i>, are examples of this life; it is not invariably
+either present or absent in deep water, and it is its presence or its absence
+which is instructive. Those animals which required a bottom to spawn upon
+may have died out or been developed into others which do not; and those
+which do not require such a support may have multiplied correspondingly.
+In one of the maps in Lieutenant Maury’s book, already cited, there is a
+space of sea opposite the western coast of South America, and lying between
+Patagonia and New Zealand, marked ‘Desolate region, distinguished by the
+absence of animal or vegetable life’;—no Sperm Whales here—nothing for
+them to feed upon—and no symptoms, either by banks of Sargasso or coral
+islets, of any land ever having existed there. There is no apparent reason
+why this place, except from some special cause peculiar to itself, should be
+more desolate than any other in the same latitude—than the deep sea on the
+east side of Patagonia, for example. I can imagine that, if the bottom of the
+sea should subside gradually, where animal life had once abounded, animal
+life—not that animal life, but animal life due in some way to it—might
+continue to linger over it long after it had passed beyond the depth at which
+it could practically have any effect upon the animal life above it; but if a
+part of the circumference of the globe has always been under water, before
+and ever since the creation of life, no life is likely to be found on that spot,
+because it has never had a starting-point of life from which to begin; and,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span>as already said, a slender barrier stops the spread of species, and species
+would certainly not spread to a spot where there was nothing for them to
+feed upon. Again, animal life could not begin to feed upon animal life till
+vegetable life had previously prepared the way, by providing food for the
+animals which were to furnish food for others; and vegetable life could not
+begin to grow without a foundation of land, accessible either above or below
+water. The total and constant absence of all life at any particular spot
+appears to me, therefore, to furnish a presumption that there has never been
+dry land or shallow water there. Whether the continuance of deep water in
+one spot for some interminably long time might not have the same effect is
+another question, which, whatever way it may be answered, would not affect
+my explanation of the cause of the absence of the Sperm Whale from such
+spots.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_31_31" href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a></p>
+
+<p>The woodcuts (figs. 17 and 18), representing the chair in Yarmouth
+Church, which is formed of part of the skull of an individual of this species,
+are from the ‘Purlestrations of Great Yarmouth,’ by Mr. C. J. Palmer.</p>
+
+
+<h4>THE ZIPHIOID WHALES.</h4>
+
+<p>The sub-family <i>Ziphiinæ</i>, which follows next, is, perhaps, the most remarkable
+of the whole of this interesting order. The <i>Ziphioid</i> Whales, as
+they are designated, are, for the most part, very rare, and until the commencement
+of the present century, with one exception, were known to
+science only from their numerous remains, found chiefly in the Crag deposits.
+Even so recently as 1871, Professor Flower, in a memoir of this group&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_32_32" href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a>
+speaks of their occurrence at irregular intervals, and at various and most
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span>distant parts of the world, to the number of about 30 individuals, in all
+cases solitary, and that their habits were almost absolutely unknown.
+Since that time, however, very considerable additions have been made
+to our knowledge of the group, and Professor Flower, in a second contribution
+on the same subject&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_33_33" href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> made in 1877, states that “instead of being
+so rare as was then supposed, since the attention of naturalists resident
+in our colonies has been directed to the importance of losing no opportunity
+of securing such specimens as accidents of wind and waves may cast upon
+their shores, it has been proved that in the seas of the Southern Hemisphere
+these Whales exist in considerable numbers, both as species and as individuals,
+and that one species, at least [<i>Mesoplodon grayi</i>] is gregarious,
+having been met with in two instances in ‘schools’ of considerable numbers.”
+“The geographical distribution of the group,” adds Professor Flower&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_34_34" href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a>
+“has a very great interest in relation to that of many other Australian
+groups, both of vertebrates and invertebrates. Among the earliest known
+remains of Cetacea, in the Belgian and Suffolk Crags, <i>Mesoplodon</i> and closely-allied
+forms are most abundant. Up to a little more than ten years ago, the
+few stray individuals of <i>Mesoplodon bidens</i> occasionally stranded on the
+shores of North Europe, were supposed to be their sole survivors. Since
+that time it has been proved that they are still numerous in species, and
+even in individuals ... in the seas which surround the Australian
+continent, extending from the Cape of Good Hope on the one side, to New
+Zealand on the other, though beyond these limits no specimens have yet
+been met with. It is the history of the Marsupial Mammals, of <i>Ceratodus</i>,
+of <i>Terebratula</i>, and of numerous other forms.”</p>
+
+<p>The group is divided into four genera—<i>Hyperoodon</i>, <i>Berardius</i>, <i>Ziphius</i>, and
+<i>Mesoplodon</i> (the second of which is not represented in our Fauna). Its
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span>members were formerly distinguished by the absence of functional teeth in
+the upper jaw, but, recently, a row of small teeth, of determinate number and
+definite form, has been discovered in many individuals of a species of <i>Mesoplodon</i>.
+The teeth in the lower jaw are always quite rudimentary, with the
+exception of one, or occasionally, two pairs. These may be largely developed,
+especially in the male sex, and are placed, generally, well forward. “They
+have a small and pointed enamel-covered crown, composed of true dentine,
+which, instead of surmounting a root of the ordinary character, is raised upon
+a solid mass of osteo-dentine, the continuous growth of which greatly alters
+the form and general appearance of the organ as age advances.” In <i>Mesoplodon
+layardi</i> this little dentine cap is not larger than the portion of the tooth
+ordinarily shown above the gum, but the fang-like growth is so great that the
+tips of the “tusks” meet over the upper jaw, so that the animal is only able
+to open its mouth for a very short distance indeed. The form assumed in
+<i>Mesoplodon bidens</i> will be seen in the figure of the head of that species, at
+p. 104. The blow-hole is sub-crescentic, and a pair of remarkable furrows
+occurs in the skin of the throat, almost in the form of the letter V, the point
+directed forward. The skull presents a remarkable appearance in the genus
+<i>Hyperoodon</i>, caused by the enormous maxillary crests which produce the
+peculiar conformation of the head in the living animal, originating the trivial
+name “Bottle-head.” The food of the whole group is said to consist mainly
+of <i>Loligo</i>, commonly called “Squid,” and other Cephalopods which frequent
+the open sea.</p>
+
+<p>One very singular circumstance with regard to these creatures is
+that they never seem to be taken at sea, but, whenever procured, it is
+by their running themselves on shore. This, as before remarked with regard
+to the Sperm Whale, would seem to indicate that their natural habitat is
+the deep waters of the open seas, where shallows are unknown. The sand-banks
+which surround a sloping shore, of which they have had no experience,
+speedily prove fatal to them.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span></p>
+
+
+<h5>BEAKED WHALE.</h5>
+
+<p>The common <span class="smcap">Beaked Whale</span>, or <span class="smcap">Bottle-head</span> (<i>Hyperoodon rostratum</i>,
+Chemnitz; <i>Hyperoodon butzkopf</i>, Lacépède), is of frequent occurrence in the
+North Atlantic, and generally visits our shores in autumn, sometimes ascending
+the estuaries of rivers: it has been taken several times at the entrance to
+the river Ouse. It is solitary in its habits, more than two being never met with
+in the same place, and in that case it is often the old female and her young
+one: the old male is said to be very shy and rarely secured. In September,
+1877, an adult female, 24 ft. long, was taken in the Menai Straits; it was
+accompanied by another, probably its young one. Capt. Feilden met with
+what he believes to have been this species, just within the Arctic Circle;
+“each emission of breath was accompanied by a stentorian grunt, which
+closely resembled that of an elephant.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_35_35" href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a></p>
+
+<p>The colour is black above, the under parts being lighter: the two teeth in
+the lower jaw are generally hidden in the gum. Its food consists of cuttlefish,
+the remains of great numbers of which have been found in its stomach.</p>
+
+
+<h5>BROAD-FRONTED BEAKED WHALE.</h5>
+
+<p>Another species of <i>Hyperoodon</i>, for which the name <i>H. latifrons</i> has been
+proposed, is by some supposed to exist. Scarcely anything is known about
+it as a species. “The principal distinctive characters of the skull lie in the
+great raised crests of the maxillary bones, which are very much thickened
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span>and flattened above, so as almost to touch one another, whereas, in <i>H.
+rostratum</i>, they are rather sharp-edged above, and separated by a considerable
+interval. In <i>H. latifrons</i>, these crests rise absolutely <i>higher</i> than the
+occipital region of the skull, which is not the case in the common species.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_36_36" href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a>
+Individuals possessing these peculiarities have been taken three or four times
+on the British coast, and on one occasion, in Greenland. Another was
+stranded in 1873, at Hasvig, near Hammerfest, and identified by Professor
+Sars from its remains; its length was 30 feet (Norse), and the colour dark on
+the back, but lighter beneath.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_37_37" href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> It has, however, been suggested, with much
+probability, by Eschricht, that these individuals are, after all, only the males
+of the preceding species; for all the specimens with broad crests, of which
+the sex was noted, were males.</p>
+
+
+<h5>CUVIER’S WHALE.</h5>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Cuvier’s Whale</span> (<i>Ziphius cavirostris</i>, Cuv.; <i>Epiodon desmarestii</i>, J. E.
+Gray, ‘Cat. Seals and Whales’), another of this remarkable group, has been
+met with once on the coast of Shetland, and it, or its remains, have been
+found about five or six times in other parts of Europe, and also, it is believed,
+at the Cape of Good Hope, the east coast of South America, and New
+Zealand. Professor Turner is of opinion that the geographical range of
+<i>Ziphius cavirostris</i> equals that possessed by the Spermaceti Whale.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_38_38" href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a> In
+colour this species is believed to resemble Sowerby’s Whale; it has two
+teeth, one on each side of the lower jaw, close to the extremity.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a><a id="Page_104"></a>[Pg 104]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p104" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p104.jpg" alt="Head of Sowerby’s Whale">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 21. <span class="smcap">Head of Sowerby’s Whale</span> (<i>Mesoplodon sowerbiensis</i>, De Blainville).</p>
+      <p>From Trans. Roy. Irish Acad.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span></p>
+
+<p>Cuvier established the genus <i>Ziphius</i> in 1825, from a fossil skull found on
+the coast of Provence in 1804, which he believed at the time to belong to an
+extinct animal.</p>
+
+
+<h5>SOWERBY’S WHALE.</h5>
+
+<p>One more British Ziphioid is known, <span class="smcap">Sowerby’s Whale</span> (<i>Mesoplodon
+sowerbiensis</i>, De Blainville); it was first described from a specimen which
+came ashore at Brodie, Elginshire, in 1800, and has since been found three
+times in Ireland; there is also a skull in the Museum of Science and Art at
+Edinburgh, which belonged to a specimen believed to have been captured
+somewhere on the Scotch coast; the remains of five others are preserved in
+various Continental museums.</p>
+
+<p>Of the individual which came on shore on the coast of Kerry, in March,
+1864, Mr. Andrews has given a description in the “Transactions of the Royal
+Irish Academy,” for April, 1867. Fortunately, it came under the notice of
+Dr. Busteed, of Castle Gregory, who being interested in zoology, and aware
+of the great importance of the occurrence, photographed the head in several
+positions while it was yet fresh: Dr. Busteed’s photographs were reproduced
+in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy. The head had unfortunately
+been removed immediately behind the frontal portion of the skull, the
+base of which is lost, as are also the other parts of the skeleton. The total
+length of the animal was about fifteen feet, the two teeth largely developed
+and projecting like the tusks of a boar. On the under part of the throat
+the V-shaped furrow was very conspicuous. Sowerby’s specimen was coloured
+black above, and nearly white below. The skin was smooth like satin. “Immediately
+under the cuticle the sides were completely covered with white
+vermicular streaks in every direction, which at a little distance appeared like
+irregular cuts with a sharp instrument.”</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak">
+  <i>DELPHINIDÆ.</i>
+</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>The remaining family, <i>Delphinidæ</i>, as before stated, is a very numerous
+one. It has ten representatives in the British fauna, contained in seven
+genera, the first of which, according to the arrangement I have adopted, is
+that of <i>Monodon</i>.</p>
+
+
+<h4>THE NARWHAL.</h4>
+
+<p>The <span class="smcap">Narwhal</span> (<i>Monodon monoceros</i>, Linn.) is a native of the Polar seas
+seldom leaving the ice; stragglers have occurred three times on the British
+coast, one in 1648 in the Firth of Forth, another came ashore alive at Boston,
+in 1800; the third was taken in Shetland in 1808.</p>
+
+<p>This species is very numerous in the frozen seas to the north of latitude
+65°, and is remarkable for the enormous development in the male of the
+left canine tooth, which is projected forward in the form of a tusk or spear,
+reaching to the length of six or eight feet, while the right tusk remains
+abortive, and does not pierce the alveolus. The spear is of fine compact
+ivory, hollow for the greater part of its length, grooved spirally from left to
+right, along its outer surface, the spiral generally making five or six turns, but
+smooth at the end, and bluntly pointed. Although the right canine is rarely
+developed, a few examples have occurred in which both tusks were present;
+the female is very rarely furnished with this appendage.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. J. W. Clark, in a paper on a ‘Skeleton of Narwhal, with two fully-developed
+tusks,’&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_39_39" href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> writes as follows:—“The skulls of the Toothed Whales
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span>are generally asymmetrical, being twisted more or less, usually towards the
+left. This peculiarity is especially observable in Monodon. One would
+expect it to be greatly exaggerated in the skulls of the males, where the
+left tusk alone is developed, and the left maxillary is, in consequence, very
+large, and the right proportionately small; but it does not seem to be affected
+by the absence or presence of the teeth. Female skulls, where neither tusk
+is developed, are equally twisted, and so are the bidental skulls ... the
+increased size of the right maxillary does not appear to affect the rest of
+the skull.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Clark enumerates eleven skulls of the Narwhal in which both tusks
+are developed; four at Copenhagen, and one each in the museum of Hamburg,
+Christiania, Amsterdam, Weimar, Hull, Paris, and Cambridge; to these must
+be added a twelfth, which was brought from Prince Regent’s Inlet, by Capt.
+Gravill, of the “Camperdown,” and is now in the Dundee Museum.</p>
+
+<p>Not long since I saw preserved in a country mansion, the tusk of a
+Narwhal measuring 7 ft. 5 in. long; it was carefully kept in a long case
+resembling a barber’s pole, and bore a ticket attached, which stated that it
+was “Bequeathed in 1561 by the Countess of ——, to her daughter ——.”
+No doubt at the time this formed a valuable bequest, as even
+royal and ecclesiastical dignitaries are said to have esteemed these strange
+objects (probably associated with the mythical unicorn), as “good against”
+poisons and fevers, and prized them accordingly. The use of this remarkable
+appendage appears very doubtful; it has been conjectured that it serves to
+stir up food from the bottom of the sea, in which case the female would be
+badly off without it; or that it is employed to keep breathing-holes open in
+the ice, and an instance is related in support of this view, in which hundreds
+were seen at an ice-hole protruding their heads to breathe, but it is not clear
+whether they made the hole for themselves, or whether they were attracted by
+it, particularly as there were numbers of White Whales with them. It seems
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span>certain, however, that the tusk, which is frequently found in a broken condition,
+is used for purposes of attack and defence. Like the horn of the stag,
+it is, no doubt, a sexual distinction.</p>
+
+<p>The Narwhal is very social in its habits, great numbers being often met
+with together; its food consists of cuttlefish and crustaceans. The length of
+the full-grown animal is about 16 feet, the upper parts gray, the sides and
+belly white, and the whole animal spotted with black and gray. The only
+authentic figure of the Narwhal with which I am acquainted is that given by
+Scoresby; this is so well known from frequent reproduction that it is not
+necessary to give it here.</p>
+
+
+<h5>THE WHITE WHALE.</h5>
+
+<p>The <span class="smcap">White Whale</span>, or <span class="smcap">Beluga</span> (<i>Delphinapterus leucas</i>, Pallas), like the
+preceding species, is a native of the Polar seas, where it is common; it is
+abundant in the White and Kara Seas, and in the Gulf of Obi; on the coast
+of Norway it is occasionally met with. From Scotland, five individuals have
+been recorded, but it must be regarded as only an accidental straggler. On
+the east coast of America it is found as far south as the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
+where, as in the White Sea, it delights in ascending the mouths of large
+rivers.</p>
+
+<p>No English examples have been met with, but, in the British Association
+Report on the Fauna of Devonshire (1869, pp. 84 and 85) occurs the following
+passage. “Mr. H. P. Gosse writes:—‘On August 5th, 1832, I was returning
+from Newfoundland to England, and was sailing up the British Channel close
+to the land, when, just off Berry Head, I saw under the ship’s bows a large
+cetacean of a milky white hue, but appearing slightly tinged with green from
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span>the intervening stratum of clear water. It was about 16 feet long, with a
+round bluff head. It continued to swim along before the vessel’s head, a few
+yards beneath the surface, for about ten minutes, maintaining our rate of
+speed, which was five knots an hour, all which time I enjoyed from the bow-sprit
+a very good view of it. It could have been no other than the White
+Whale, the <i>B. borealis</i> of Lesson.’” Mr. Alston also states that Mr. J. G.
+Gordon informed him that in June, 1878, “he saw a large white cetacean,
+presumably of this species, in Loch Etive.”</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p109" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p109.jpg" alt="Beluga">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 22. <span class="smcap">Beluga</span>, caught by the tail, near Dunrobin, Sutherlandshire.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>In a communication to the Zoological Society of London,&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_40_40" href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a> quoting a
+letter from the Rev. Dr. Joass, of Golspie, Professor Flower thus describes
+the singular capture of one of these rare visitants to our seas:—“It was found
+close to the salmon-nets, near the Little Ferry, about three miles to the
+westward of Dunrobin, Sutherlandshire, at ebb tide, on Monday, June 9th,
+1879, caught by the tail between two short posts, to which a stake-net was
+fastened; and a salmon, of 18 lbs. weight, which was supposed to have been
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span>the object of its pursuit, was found in front of it. It measured 12 ft. 6 in.
+in length. The tail was 34 inches across, and the flippers 17 inches long. It
+was a female [adult] and had twenty teeth in the upper jaw, and sixteen in
+the lower. the stomach contained a few flakes of fish, which, from their size
+and colour, might have been salmon.... I have heard since, that two
+days before its capture, it was seen off Cracaig by Brora fishermen, who were
+lying at their lines. At first they thought it was a human body; as it
+approached, <i>against the ebb</i>, they took it for a ghost!” On examining the
+skull of this specimen, Professor Flower discovered that, at some previous
+period of the animal’s existence, the atlas had been completely dislocated,
+“the whole of the surfaces, formerly in apposition, being now free from each
+other,” an injury to an aquatic animal as difficult to account for as it is to
+imagine the possibility of its surviving, but affording a remarkable instance of
+the creature’s recuperative power.</p>
+
+<p>The Whales exhibited at the Westminster Aquarium, in September, 1877,
+and again in May, 1878, belonged to this species; unfortunately they did not
+live to equal in docility and intelligence a specimen exhibited in America,
+which “learned to recognize his keeper, and would allow himself to be
+handled by him, and at the proper time would come and put his head out of
+the water to receive the harness” by which he was attached to a car in which
+he drew a young lady round the tank,—or to take his food. A specimen of
+<i>Delphinus tursio</i>, which was for a time with him in the same tank, is said to
+have been even more docile than this remarkable animal.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_41_41" href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a> The adult Beluga
+is pure white, and a “school” of these animals “leaping and playing in the
+calm, dark sea,” is said to be a very beautiful sight. In summer the Greenlanders
+kill great numbers, extracting the oil and drying the flesh for winter
+use; in Russia, the prepared skin is much used for reins or other parts of
+harness requiring great strength and lightness; in this country, too, under the
+name of porpoise-hide, it is now extensively used, and the salted skins sell for
+from 3s. 6d. to 4s. 6d. per lb. The whale-ship, “Arctic,” of Dundee, brought
+home 600 skins from Davis Strait, in the season of 1880. The length of the
+full-grown animal is about 16 ft., and its food consists of fishes, Crustacea,
+and Cephalapods.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a><a id="Page_112"></a>[Pg 112]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p112" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p112.jpg" alt="The Grampus">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 23. <span class="smcap">The Grampus</span> (<i>Orca gladiator</i>, Lacép.)</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span></p>
+
+
+<h5>THE GRAMPUS, OR KILLER.</h5>
+
+<p>The common <span class="smcap">Grampus</span>, or <span class="smcap">Killer</span> (<i>Orca gladiator</i>, Lacépède), (fig. 23)
+is a well-known and widely-dispersed species, being found in both the North
+Atlantic and Pacific Seas. Andrew Murray says “the common Grampus
+tumbles through the heavy waves all the way from Britain to Japan, <i>viâ</i> the
+North-west Passage.” In the British seas it is frequently met with, and has
+occurred in several instances on the coast of Norfolk. This species is very
+fierce, its appetite insatiable, and carnivorous in the strictest sense of the
+word; to the Greenland and White Whale, as well as to Porpoises and Seals,
+it is an implacable enemy, and follows them ruthlessly. Dr. Brown says,
+“the White Whale and Seals often run ashore, in terror of this cetacean, and
+I have seen Seals spring out of the water when pursued by it. The whalers
+hate to see it, for its arrival is the signal for every Whale to leave that portion
+of the ice.” Eschricht took out of the stomach of a Killer, 21 ft. long, which
+came ashore in Jutland, no less than thirteen common porpoises and fourteen
+Seals.</p>
+
+<p>The rounded, compact form of this species gives the idea of great strength
+and swiftness, and the beautifully-polished glossy black skin of the back
+contrasting with the equally pure and well-defined white of the lower parts
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</span>has a very striking effect; over the eye there is a well-defined white spot.
+It is a very handsome species, but there is something in its appearance which
+seems to indicate its cruel nature. Thirteen or fourteen strong, slightly
+curved teeth are found on either side of both jaws; the flippers are broad
+and oval-shaped, the dorsal fin high and falcate, particularly in the male.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p114" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p114.jpg" alt="Pseudorca crassidens">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 24. <i>Pseudorca crassidens</i> (Owen).</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>As my object is mainly that of assisting in the identification of
+casual visitants to our shores, rather than of giving anything like a history
+of the known British species of Cetacea, it may be desirable to mention
+here a very remarkable form, which, although it has never been known
+to occur in the flesh on our shores, was first made known to science from
+an imperfect skeleton found in a semi-fossil condition beneath the peat
+in a Lincolnshire Fen. To this Dolphin, “come back, as it were, from the
+dead,” and which forms a connecting link between the genus <i>Orca</i> and the
+genera <i>Grampus</i> and <i>Globicephalus</i> (and which Owen had named <i>Phocœna
+crassidens</i>), Reinhardt gives the name of <i>Pseudorca crassidens</i>. On the 24th
+November, 1861, a large shoal of these dolphins made their appearance in the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span>Bay of Kiel. The sailors succeeded in separating about thirty of them from
+the remainder, but all, with one exception, escaped. This was a female 16
+feet long, which, after being exhibited at Kiel and other places, was bought
+for the Museum of the University of Kiel. In the summer of 1862, three
+other individuals, presumably from the same shoal, were thrown ashore on the
+north-western coast of Zealand. Of the general appearance of this creature
+the accompanying figure (24), copied, by kind permission, from Professor
+Flower’s translation of Reinhardt’s paper,&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_42_42" href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> published by the Ray Society,
+will give an idea; the figure is from a photograph of the Kiel specimen, and
+is not in the original paper. The length is from 16 to 19 feet; of the colour
+no account is given, but, judging from the woodcut of the Kiel specimen, it
+appears to be uniformly shiny black. The number of teeth differs in individuals,
+but in this one it was from 9 to 10 on either side of the lower jaw,
+and 8 to 10 in the upper. From the observations made by Reinhardt, he
+suggests a possibility that there may be “a difference in the sizes of the
+different sexes, and whether the females are not larger, but at the same time,
+perhaps, provided with a head comparatively smaller than that of the males.”
+It is very suggestive of how little we know of the inhabitants of the sea, that
+at least one vast shoal of a species known only from its sub-fossil remains
+should be roaming the seas only to be accidentally discovered when its
+members became entangled in shallows from which probably many never
+lived to extricate themselves.</p>
+
+
+<h5>RISSO’S GRAMPUS.</h5>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Risso’s Dolphin</span> (<i>Grampus griseus</i>, G. Cuvier; <i>Grampus cuvieri</i>, Gray,
+Ann. Nat. Hist., 1846) is a rare and little-known species, which has been met
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span>with four times on the south coast of England, and about eight times in
+France. In the ‘Transactions’ of the Zoological Society, for 1871, Professor
+Flower gives an account of an adult female which was taken in a mackerel-net,
+near the Eddystone Lighthouse, on 28th February, 1870, and which
+eventually was sent up to London. About a month later, a second specimen
+was received in London, the precise locality of which was not known, but it
+was probably from somewhere in the Channel. This was also a female, but a
+very young animal, and as the adult female first taken had recently given
+birth to a young one, it is quite possible that it may have belonged to her.
+On the 26th July, a male of the same species was captured alive at Sidlesham,
+near Chichester, and sent to the Brighton Aquarium, where it lived
+for a few hours only.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p116" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p116.jpg" alt="Risso’s Dolphin">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 25. <span class="smcap">Risso’s Dolphin</span> (<i>Grampus griseus</i>, G. Cuv.)</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Risso’s Dolphin varies very considerably in its colouration. The Sidlesham
+specimen was bluish-black above, and dirty white beneath; in the adult
+female described by Professor Flower (from whose illustration our figure is,
+with his permission, copied), “the head and the whole of the body anterior to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span>the dorsal fin was of a lightish grey, variegated with patches of both darker
+and whiter hue.... Behind the anterior edge of the dorsal fin the general
+colour of the surface, including the dorsal and caudal fins, was nearly black,
+though with a large light patch on the upper part of the side directly above
+the pudendal orifice. The middle of the belly as far back as the pudendal
+orifice, was greyish white.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_43_43" href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> The most remarkable characteristic, however,
+was the presence, scattered over the body, of irregular light streaks and spots;
+these markings extended from the head to within about two feet from the
+tail; and presented a most singular appearance. In the young one the upper
+parts and sides of the body were almost black, and the lower parts nearly white,
+the junction between the two colours being very abrupt and sharp. “On
+each side of the body were six vertical whitish stripes nearly symmetrically
+arranged, and almost equidistant, being about six inches apart. They did
+not extend quite to the middle line of the body above, and were lost below in
+the light colouring of the abdomen.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_44_44" href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> The length of the Sidlesham male was
+8 feet, that of the adult female 10 ft. 6 in.; in the former there were present
+four teeth on each side the lower jaw, in the latter three only on each side,
+and in the immature specimen there were present seven teeth, four on the
+right, and three on the left side; the teeth are always placed in the front part
+of the mandible, and in every specimen examined there has been an entire
+absence of teeth in the upper jaw. In general appearance, Risso’s Dolphin,
+more particularly the dark-coloured specimens, is said very much to resemble
+the next species (<i>Globicephalus melas</i>). Of its habits and distribution nothing
+positive is known, but from its visiting France and England in the spring or
+summer, M. Fischer concludes that this species “is migratory, visiting the
+shores of Europe in the summer, and passing in winter either to the south
+towards the coast of Africa, or to the west towards the American Continent.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_45_45" href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span></p>
+
+
+<h5>THE PILOT WHALE.</h5>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p118" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p118.jpg" alt="Pilot Whale">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 26. <span class="smcap">Pilot Whale</span> (<i>Globicephalus melas</i>, Trail).</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The <span class="smcap">Pilot Whale</span> (<i>Globicephalus melas</i>, Trail; <i>Delphinus melas</i>, Trail;
+<i>D. globiceps</i>, Cuv.; <i>D. deductor</i>, Scoresby), known in Shetland as the Ca’ing
+or Driving Whale, is a frequent, although a very uncertain, visitor in British
+waters. It is met with, according to Lilljeborg, in the North Sea and
+northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, occasionally as far north as Greenland;
+off the Orkney and Shetland Islands, and on the North-west coast of Norway,
+it frequently makes its appearance; and it has been found on the British
+coast as far south as Cornwall. In Bell’s ‘British Quadrupeds’ it is said that
+it also appears to enter the Mediterranean. This species is pre-eminently
+gregarious, and generally occurs in large herds, often numbering several
+hundreds. So strong is their habit of association that they follow the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span>leading Whale like a flock of sheep, a habit of which the Orkney and
+Shetland Islanders are fully aware, and avail themselves to the full. When
+a herd appears in one of the bays, boats immediately put off, and if possible,
+get to seaward of them, then gradually approaching, with shouts and splashes,
+they urge the whole herd shoreward, and are generally successful in driving
+a large number of Whales into shallow water; but should the leader break
+through the line of boats, the probability is that no efforts the boats’ crews
+can make will prevent all its companions following. Bell gives many
+instances of large numbers of these animals being taken, the last of which,
+quoted from the ‘Zoologist’ for 1846, is, perhaps, the most extraordinary. It
+is there stated, “on newspaper authority,” that 2,080 were taken in Faroe in
+the previous year within six weeks, and that 1,540 were killed <i>within two
+hours</i> in Quendall Bay, Shetland, on the 22nd September, 1845.</p>
+
+<p>As it too frequently happens that the unfortunate cetaceans which fall
+into the hands of the fishermen are simply hacked to pieces, and die only
+from exhaustion arising from loss of blood, it is worthy of remark that,
+according to Herr Collett, of Christiania, in Norway they are readily killed
+by a rifle shot, in the throat, or under the breast.</p>
+
+<p>This species (fig. 26) is remarkable for its peculiarly rounded head,—hence
+its generic name; the flippers are long and pointed, the dorsal fin long and
+low; the teeth are about an inch in length, seldom all present in the adults, and
+the normal number, according to Bell, about twenty-four on either side each
+jaw; ten to twelve is, however, the more usual number present. The length
+of the adult is about nineteen or twenty feet, its colour glossy black, with the
+exception of a white stripe along the belly, which has a heart-shaped termination
+under the throat. Its favourite food is said to be cuttlefish. The
+figure is copied, with permission, from the ‘Transactions’ of the Zoological
+Society, vol. viii., pl. 30.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span></p>
+
+
+<h5>PORPOISE.</h5>
+
+<p>The <span class="smcap">Common Porpoise</span> (<i>Phocœna communis</i>, F. Cuv.; <i>Delphinus phocœna</i>,
+Linn.) is the best known of the Cetacea inhabiting the North Sea, being met
+with in abundance all round the British Isles, seldom occurring far from land,
+and often ascending large rivers for a considerable distance: it has been seen in
+the Thames as high as London Bridge.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing can be more interesting than to watch a shoal of these animals
+at sea, sometimes tumbling and gambolling under the bows of the vessel
+which is passing rapidly through the water, with as much ease as if she
+were motionless, or chasing each other playfully round and round the
+ship as she lies becalmed, their white bellies glistening in the clear
+sea, and frequently, apparently out of pure mad delight, leaping completely
+out of the water, returning to their native element with a most determined
+header. But it is not till seen in the glass-sided tank of the aquarium that
+the beauty, and even poetry of motion of these animals can be fully appreciated;
+swimming along in a series of gentle curves, they just bring the blow-hole
+to the surface, breathe without stopping, and continue the curve, till in
+due course they reach the surface again. This is repeated for the whole
+length of their spacious tank, or is varied by unexpected eccentricities, all
+indescribably graceful. Under these favourable circumstances for observation
+it is also clearly seen that the horizontal tail is the propeller which gives the
+motion; the alternate upward and downward pressure of this organ against
+the water evidently producing the graceful mode of progression which is so
+difficult to describe, but so easily understood when witnessed. The flippers
+are not used as propellers. When the animal is moving forwards they are
+laid back, against the body; but when it wishes to stop, they are stretched
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span>out at right angles to it, so as to offer a resistance to the water, and so arrest
+the onward motion of the animal. All this, although perfectly understood in
+theory before, strikes the beholder as a new and beautiful sight when first
+viewed in practice, from a stand-point, on a level with the animal itself, and
+as it were in its own element.</p>
+
+<p>The food of the Porpoise consists of fish, and it follows the shoals of
+herrings, &amp;c., amongst which it commits great depredations; it has a taste for
+salmon, and is sometimes taken in the salmon-nets. The period of gestation
+is said to be six months, and it brings forth one young one at a birth; its
+colour is black on the back, shaded off to silver-grey on the belly, the whole
+skin beautifully smooth and polished. The teeth number about twenty-five
+on each side of either jaw, and are spatulate, with a contracted neck, unlike
+the usually conical teeth of the <i>Delphinidæ</i>. The length is four or five feet.
+The flesh of the Porpoise seems formerly to have been esteemed as an article
+of food, and is mentioned several times in the L’Estrange Household Book
+(1519 to 1578) and other similar records; it is said by one who has eaten
+it to be “excellent meat, dark in colour, and large in fibre, but of excellent
+flavour, very tender, and full of gravy.”</p>
+
+
+<h5>THE COMMON DOLPHIN.</h5>
+
+<p>The <span class="smcap">Common Dolphin</span> (<i>Delphinus delphis</i>, Linn.), fig. 27, is not unfrequently
+met with in the seas surrounding the southern portion of the British
+Isles; but from the northern division of the kingdom, although it, doubtless,
+occasionally visits Scottish waters, there is no reliable record of its occurrence.
+This species, probably, often passes unrecognized. It may, however, be at
+once distinguished from the Porpoise by its attenuated beak, the head of the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span>Porpoise being obtuse, and the beak altogether absent. It is a native of the
+temperate seas, and becomes scarcer as the north is approached. Van
+Beneden was not able to record it as frequenting the Belgian coast, but
+Lilljeborg says it is occasionally obtained on the coasts of Scandinavia, and
+Herr Collett has hardly any doubt that it occurs on the Norwegian coast as far
+north as Finmarken, and a large “school,” seen by Malmgren in April, 1861,
+in West-fjord, between the Loffoden Islands and the mainland, was referred
+by him, without hesitation, to this species. In Greenland it is said to be met
+with, but Professor Flower thinks it doubtful whether some species of an
+allied genus may not have been mistaken for it.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p122" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p122.jpg" alt="Common Dolphin">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 27. <span class="smcap">Common Dolphin</span> (<i>Delphinus delphis</i>, Linn.).</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>This is the true Dolphin of the Ancients, of which Professor Bell, in
+his ‘British Quadrupeds,’ says: “the mythological and poetical associations
+which belong to the Dolphin, its reputed attachment to mankind, its benevolent
+aid in cases of shipwreck, its dedication to the gods, and many other attributes
+expressive of the high estimation in which it was held in olden times,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span>afford a striking example of how the unrestrained imagination of the ancients
+could raise the most gorgeous structures of poetry and religion upon the most
+slender basis.... It requires some stretch of the imagination to identify
+the round-headed creature which is represented in ancient coins and statues,
+with the straight sharp-beaked animal,” which is here figured. It is sad to
+destroy at one fell swoop all the romance which once surrounded this species;
+but Dr. Gray tells us that “the dying Dolphin’s changing hues” are not
+observed in a cetacean at all, but in a fish of the genus <i>Coryphæna</i>, which,
+although normally black, is stated by Mr. Couch (as quoted by Mr. Yarrell)
+to have changed to a fine blue whilst he was making a drawing of it. The
+food of the Dolphin consists of fish, cuttlefish, and crustaceans, and on the
+Cornish coast it makes its appearance in considerable numbers, according to
+Mr. Couch, in the month of September during the pilchard season. It is very
+social in its habits, and even more sportive in the water than its relative, the
+Porpoise. The illustration is copied from Reinhardt’s figure.</p>
+
+<p>Professor Flower thus describes a specimen taken in March, 1879,
+Mevagessey: “Instead of being simply black above and white below, as
+usually described, the sides were shaded, mottled, and streaked with various
+tints of yellow and grey, ... the under surface was of the purest possible
+white; perfect symmetry was shown in the colouring and markings on the
+two sides of the body.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_46_46" href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> There is, probably, much variation in the disposal
+of the colour; in a beautiful drawing, in my possession, made by Mr.
+Gatcombe from a specimen taken at Plymouth, the colour is so disposed as to
+show two graceful waving lines, crossing each other about the centre of the
+animal’s body, forming a figure somewhat like an elongated figure eight.
+The dental formulæ vary from 40/40 40/40 to 50/50 50/50, the numbers not always being
+equal, even on the different sides of the mouth of the same individual. The
+length is from 5 to 8 feet.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span></p>
+
+
+<h5>BOTTLE-NOSED DOLPHIN.</h5>
+
+<p>The <span class="smcap">Bottle-nosed Dolphin</span> (<i>Delphinus tursio</i>, Fab.; <i>Tursio truncatus</i>,
+Gray), fig. 28, appears to be found occasionally from the Mediterranean to the
+North Sea; it is by no means, however, a common species. Professor Flower
+says it “is rare in the Mediterranean, though Gervais gives several instances
+of its capture in the Gulf of Lyons. It probably has a more northern
+range than <i>D. delphis</i>; but, as in the case of that species, there is still
+much obscurity as to the exact limits of its distribution.”&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_47_47" href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a> A specimen
+was seen in January, 1873, in the fish-market at Algiers, by Mr. J. W. Clark,
+of Cambridge.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p124" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p124.jpg" alt="Bottle-nosed Dolphin">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 28. <span class="smcap">Bottle-nosed Dolphin</span> (<i>Delphinus tursio</i>, Fabricius.)</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span></p>
+
+<p>Of the habits of this species very little is known: its colour is black above,
+shaded to white below, and its length from 8 to 12 feet; teeth from 21
+to 25 on either side of each jaw, truncated when old. The figure is from
+a drawing of a nearly adult male, taken at Holyhead, in October, 1868, for
+which I am indebted to the kindness of Professor Flower.</p>
+
+
+<h5>WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN.</h5>
+
+<p>The <span class="smcap">White-sided Dolphin</span> (<i>Delphinus acutus</i>, J. E. Gray; <i>Lagenorhynchus
+acutus</i>, Gray, Zool. Erebus and Terror), is a rare species, which has occurred
+in a few instances on the British coast; it is said, however, by Dr. A. R.
+Duguid, often to be seen about the Orkney Islands, but rarely secured. Its
+colour is black above and white below, between which runs a broad band of
+yellowish brown, about the centre of which, and surrounded by it, is a large
+oblong patch of pure white. The adult measures from 6 to 8 feet in length.
+A figure and description, by Dr. Duguid, taken from one of a herd of twenty
+landed at Kirkwall, on the 21st August, 1858, will be found in the ‘Ann. and
+Mag. of Nat. Hist.’ (3rd series) for August, 1864, vol. xiv., p. 133.</p>
+
+
+<h5>WHITE-BEAKED DOLPHIN.</h5>
+
+<p>The last species on the British list, the <span class="smcap">White-beaked Dolphin</span> (<i>Delphinus
+albirostris</i>, J. E. Gray; <i>Lagenorhynchus albirostris</i>, J. E. Gray, Zool. Erebus
+and Terror), is also of rare occurrence: it is a native of the North Atlantic,
+has occurred at the Faroe Islands, and on the coasts of Norway and Sweden,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span>and Denmark, also at Ostend, but little is known of its habits. A Dolphin of
+this species was killed at Hartlepool in 1834, but not recognized at the time:
+the skull is now in the Cambridge Museum. This species was, I believe, first
+described as British by Mr. Brightwell, under the name of <i>D. tursio</i>, from a
+specimen taken off Yarmouth, in 1846. His paper, with a figure from a
+drawing made by Miss Brightwell, will be found in the ‘Ann. and Mag. of
+Nat. Hist.,’ first series, January, 1846, vol. xvii, p. 21. Another specimen was
+shot by Mr. H. M. Upcher, near Cromer, and will be found recorded by Dr.
+Gray in the same Magazine, for April, 1866, vol. xvii., p. 312. A fourth, an
+adult male, 9 feet long, was taken at the mouth of the Dee, in December,
+1862; and a fifth on the south coast, in 1871.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="i_p126" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i_p126.jpg" alt="White-beaked Dolphin">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>Fig. 29. <span class="smcap">White-beaked Dolphin</span> (<i>Delphinus albirostris</i>, J. E. Gray).</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>In September, 1875, a young female was taken off Grimsby, and in
+March, 1876, a young male was captured off Lowestoft. The first-named of
+these latter formed the subject of a communication to the Zoological Society
+of London, by Dr. Cunningham, of Edinburgh, and the latter of a subsequent
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span>notice, by Mr. J. W. Clark, of Cambridge. Both papers will be found printed
+in the ‘Proceedings’ of the Zoological Society for 1876, p. 679, <i>et seq.</i>, and
+figures of the two specimens are given on the same plate. On the 24th
+August, 1879, a young female, the skull of which is now in the Norfolk and
+Norwich Museum, was landed at Yarmouth, and on the 22nd March, 1880,
+another young female was also landed at the same place, the exact locality
+in which it was taken being uncertain. On the 7th September, 1880, a young
+male, the first recorded Scotch specimen, was taken on the east coast, near
+the Bell Rock, thus realising the belief, expressed shortly before (‘Mammalia
+of Scotland,’ <i>Nat. Hist. Soc. of Glasgow</i>, 1880, p. 23) by Mr. Alston, that it
+might be expected to occur in Scottish waters. The total length was
+5 ft. 8 in.</p>
+
+<p>Through the kindness of Mr. Clark, I am enabled to give a figure of the
+Lowestoft specimen. Mr. Clark’s figure differs considerably from Dr.
+Cunningham’s, both in outline and in the disposal of colour, being much
+more slender, and showing considerably less white; both, however, differ still
+more from Mr. Brightwell’s figure than they do from each other. A good
+figure of the adult animal is still a desideratum, that by Miss Brightwell being
+obviously incorrect. Mr. Clark’s specimen was glossy black on the upper
+part, and creamy white on the under; the upper lip white, with a black spot
+at the tip, and a few irregular pale grey cloudings on its surface; the coloration
+exceedingly beautiful, and such as no drawing could give an adequate idea of.
+The two last-named Yarmouth examples agreed very closely in all respects
+with Mr. Clark’s description. Mr. Brightwell’s specimen had the whole upper
+part and sides rich purple-black, the lips, throat, and belly cream-colour,
+varied by chalky-white. This specimen, an adult, measured 8 ft. 2 in. in
+length, Mr. Clark’s 5 ft. 5½ in., and Dr. Cunningham’s 4 ft. 2 in. Two
+others, also both young ones, measured respectively 4 ft. 3 in., and 5 ft. The
+teeth vary in number, but are about twenty-six on either side each jaw;
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</span>in one specimen, carefully examined by the writer, they were 26/24 26/24, several
+of the front teeth not having pierced the gum.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to those enumerated above, others are said to have occurred
+on the coast of Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and to have been seen
+off the Faroe Islands. It is singular that 5 of the 10 recorded British
+specimens should have been landed on the Norfolk coast.</p>
+
+<p>This species concludes the short list of the twenty-two British Cetacea, of
+which I have endeavoured to give a popular, but I hope, at the same time, so
+far as it is at present known, a reliable account; my principal object, as I
+stated in my introductory remarks, being to induce those residing in suitable
+localities to take up the study of this interesting family, and to assist in the
+identification of those specimens which from time to time are cast upon our
+shores.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<blockquote>
+<p><span class="smcap">Note to page 77, Rudolphi’s Rorqual</span> (<i>Balænoptera laticeps</i>, J. E. Gray).—Professor
+Flower, since the brief account of this animal at p. 77 was printed, has called my attention to the
+undoubted priority of Lesson’s name for this species, <i>Balænoptera borealis</i>, which was founded upon
+Cuvier’s “Rorqual du Nord”; he also points out that Van Beneden and Gervais follow Lesson in
+this respect, and says that in future it is his intention to do the same. As it is most important to
+establish an uniform nomenclature, I do not hesitate to follow so distinguished an authority, and
+now wish to supply the omission as far as it is possible to do so. The species will, doubtless, henceforth
+be known as <i>Balænoptera borealis</i>, Lesson, Complément des Œuvres de Buffon, Cetacés.</p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<hr class="r5">
+
+<p class="center" style="font-size: small;font-weight: bold;">
+JARROLD AND SONS, PRINTERS, LONDON AND EXCHANGE STREETS, NORWICH.
+</p>
+
+<hr class="full">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</span></p>
+
+<p class="center" style="font-size:small;">Cloth, 6s.; or in Half Morocco, 10s. 6d.</p>
+<hr class="r5">
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Observations on the Fauna of Norfolk</span>,</p>
+<p class="center" style="font-size:small;">
+AND MORE PARTICULARLY ON</p>
+<p class="center">
+THE DISTRICT OF THE BROADS.</p>
+<p class="center" style="font-size:small;">
+BY</p>
+<p class="center">
+THE LATE REV. RICHARD LUBBOCK, M.A.,</p>
+<p class="center" style="font-size:small;">
+<i>Rector of Eccles</i>.</p>
+<p class="center">
+NEW EDITION,<br>
+WITH ADDITIONS FROM UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPTS OF THE AUTHOR, AND NOTES BY<br>
+THOMAS SOUTHWELL, F.Z.S.,<br>
+<i>Hon. Sec. to the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’ Society; Author of “Seals &amp; Whales of the British Seas</i>;”<br>
+ALSO A MEMOIR BY<br>
+HENRY STEVENSON, F.L.S.;<br>
+AND AN APPENDIX CONTAINING NOTES ON HAWKING IN NORFOLK BY<br>
+ALFRED NEWTON, M.A., F.R.S., &amp;c.<br>
+AND ON THE DECOYS, REPTILES, SEA FISH, LEPIDOPTERA, AND BOTANY OF THE COUNTY.
+</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p class="center">OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p>“Lubbock’s volume, written five-and-thirty years
+ago, has long been out of print and scarce; and the
+reliable nature of the information which it affords
+has for some time rendered a new edition a <i>desideratum</i>
+with naturalists. A new edition has at length
+appeared, edited by Mr. Thomas Southwell, of
+Norwich, who has made some valuable additions of
+his own in the shape of notes on the existing mammalia
+of Norfolk, and on decoys past and present in
+the county, prefaced by a memoir of the author by
+Mr. Henry Stevenson, and supplemented by some
+interesting notes on Hawking in Norfolk, from the
+pen of Professor Newton.”—<i>The Field.</i></p>
+
+<hr class="r5">
+
+<p>“In addition to the intrinsic merits of the book, of
+which we can personally speak in the superlative
+degree as one of the most pleasantly written of the
+many pleasant natural history books our language is
+so rich in, describing, as it does, the ‘Broad District’—a
+country unlike any other part of England, and a
+very paradise to the botanist, entomologist, and
+ornithologist—this new edition is edited by Mr.
+Thomas Southwell, the active Secretary of the
+Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’ Society, whose
+full and accurate knowledge of the natural history of
+Norfolk better fits him for the task than any other
+man we know of.”—<i>Science Gossip.</i></p>
+
+<hr class="r5">
+
+<p>“While Mr. Lubbock’s personal observations were
+chiefly directed to the neighbourhood of the Broads,
+the editor has endeavoured to make the work as
+comprehensive in its scope as possible, and he includes
+the district known as Lothingland, between Lowestoft
+and Yarmouth, which, though in Suffolk, belongs
+geographically to Norfolk.”—<i>Midland Naturalist.</i></p>
+
+<hr class="r5">
+
+<p>“We promise to those who have never yet read
+this book, a rare treat from its perusal.”—<i>Zoologist.</i></p>
+
+<hr class="r5">
+
+<p>“We can scarcely speak too highly of the way in
+which this volume has been ‘got up,’ and the
+publishers have added such a map as has never yet
+been executed of this county, showing, as it does,
+not only the rivers and broads, and other principal
+pieces of water, but the sites of heronries and decoys
+(used or disused), gulleries, and other localities,
+having a special interest for Naturalists.”—<i>Norfolk
+Chronicle.</i></p>
+
+<hr class="r5">
+
+<p>“The ‘Fauna’ is a book which everyone should
+read who desires to know something of the natural
+history of Norfolk.”—<i>Norfolk News.</i></p>
+
+<hr class="r5">
+
+<p>“Absolutely reliable and authoritative as a work of
+reference, and invaluable to every naturalist and
+ornithologist.”—<i>Live Stock Journal.</i></p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p class="center">
+JARROLD AND SONS, 3, PATERNOSTER BUILDINGS, LONDON;<br>
+AND LONDON AND EXCHANGE STREETS, NORWICH.
+</p>
+
+<hr class="full">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</span></p>
+
+<p class="center">
+<i>Large 8vo., Cloth Boards, Seven Shillings and Sixpence.</i>
+</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p class="center">
+Rambles of a Naturalist<br>
+<br>
+IN<br>
+<br>
+EGYPT AND OTHER COUNTRIES,<br>
+<br>
+WITH AN ANALYSIS OF THE CLAIMS OF CERTAIN<br>
+FOREIGN BIRDS TO BE CONSIDERED BRITISH, AND OTHER<br>
+ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES.<br>
+<br>
+BY J. H. GURNEY, <span class="smcap">Jun.</span>, F.Z.S.<br>
+</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p class="center">
+JARROLD AND SONS, 3, PATERNOSTER BUILDINGS, LONDON;<br>
+AND LONDON AND EXCHANGE STREETS, NORWICH.
+</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="FOOTNOTES">
+  FOOTNOTES
+</h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_1_1" href="#FNanchor_1_1" class="label">[1]</a> Dr. Robert Brown on the ‘Seals of Greenland.’ Reprinted, with additions, in the ‘Manual
+and Instructions for the Arctic Expedition, 1875,’ from the <i>Proc. Zool. Soc.</i>, 1868, pp. 405-440.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_2_2" href="#FNanchor_2_2" class="label">[2]</a> <i>Land and Water</i>, August 26th, 1875.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_3_3" href="#FNanchor_3_3" class="label">[3]</a> Dr. Brown’s ‘Seals of Greenland,’ <i>Proc. Zool. Soc.</i>, June, 1868, reprinted in the ‘Arctic
+Manual,’ p. 67.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_4_4" href="#FNanchor_4_4" class="label">[4]</a> ‘History of North American Pinnipeds,’ by Joel Asaph Allen. U.S. Geological and
+Geographical Survey of the Territories, Miscellaneous Publications, No. 12, Washington Government
+Printing Office, 1880.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_5_5" href="#FNanchor_5_5" class="label">[5]</a> ‘Seal and Herring Fisheries of Newfoundland,’ pp. 32-34, as quoted by Allen, <i>l. c.</i>,
+    pp. 551-3.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_6_6" href="#FNanchor_6_6" class="label">[6]</a> <i>Land and Water</i>, May 9th, 1874.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_7_7" href="#FNanchor_7_7" class="label">[7]</a> Great diversity of opinion, however, exists upon this point, the Dundee sealers considering that
+the fishery should open a few days earlier, and that a time should be fixed for its closing, in order that
+too great a number of the old Seals may not be shot. The young Seals grow with great rapidity, and
+even a few hours make a marked difference in their condition; it seems, therefore, of the greatest
+importance that a time should be fixed for the opening of the fishery, which will ensure the young animals
+being in as forward a condition as possible, and that the nursing mother should be spared. It is said,
+also, that, in consequence of the number of females killed while nursing, the old dog Seals are vastly
+more numerous than the females, and that positive good is accomplished by some of them being killed
+off. One opinion, however, seems universal, which is, that not much good has resulted, at present,
+from the close time.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_8_8" href="#FNanchor_8_8" class="label">[8]</a> The Seal of the Caspian Sea was described as a variety of <i>Ph. vitulina</i>, by Pallas, and as a
+distinct species, by Nilsson, under the name of <i>Ph. caspica</i>. It is, however, notwithstanding its
+abundance, very little known, and may, probably, prove to be more nearly allied to the next species.
+The yearly average of this species taken in for the six years ending 1872, as given by Schultz,
+is 130,000.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_9_9" href="#FNanchor_9_9" class="label">[9]</a> <i>Proc. Zool. Soc.</i>, 1868, p. 402.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_10_10" href="#FNanchor_10_10" class="label">[10]</a> <i>Journal of Anatomy and Physiology</i>, 1870, p. 260.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_11_11" href="#FNanchor_11_11" class="label">[11]</a> ‘Danish Greenland, its People and its Products,’ p. 123.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_12_12" href="#FNanchor_12_12" class="label">[12]</a> ‘Mammalia of the Outer Hebrides,’ <i>Proc. Nat. Hist. Soc. Glasgow</i>, 1879, p. 95.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_13_13" href="#FNanchor_13_13" class="label">[13]</a> <i>Ph. grœnlandica</i>
+    was the only Seal met with by the Austrian Arctic Expedition, in the <i>Tegethoff</i>
+in August, 1873, the ship then drifting in the ice in lat. 79° 31′, long. 61° 43′. Subsequently both this
+species and <i>Ph. barbata</i> were met with about North lat. 81°.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_14_14" href="#FNanchor_14_14" class="label">[14]</a> ‘Seals of Greenland.’ Reprinted in ‘<i>Manual and Instructions for the Arctic Expedition</i>,
+1875,’ p. 47.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_15_15" href="#FNanchor_15_15" class="label">[15]</a> A communication in <i>Land and Water</i> for Dec. 20, 1879, p. 524, signed “R. M.,” states that
+about the 20th of June, 1879, a Walrus was seen off the west coast of Skye. “He was seen lying
+on a rock near the shore, on a fine calm evening, near enough to remove all doubt as to the identity
+of the animal.... The huge tusks were quite easily distinguished.” On being disturbed, it is said to
+have rolled into the water, and swam a short distance to another rock, on which it was seen to climb;
+after a little time it again took to the water, and was seen no more. As no names are given, it is
+impossible to investigate this report, or to judge what degree of importance should be attached to it.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_16_16" href="#FNanchor_16_16" class="label">[16]</a> Cook’s Last Voyage, vol. ii. p. 458, edition 1784.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_17_17" href="#FNanchor_17_17" class="label">[17]</a> ‘Some remarks on the Nat. Hist. of Franz Josef Land,’ by H. W. Feilden, F.G.S., &amp;c.—a
+Paper read before the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’ Society, Dec. 28, 1880.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_18_18" href="#FNanchor_18_18" class="label">[18]</a> <i>Physalus</i>, <i>Benedenia</i>, and <i>Sibbaldius</i>,
+    of Gray, are now rejected, I believe, by Prof. Flower.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_19_19" href="#FNanchor_19_19" class="label">[19]</a> <i>Zoologist</i>, 1877, p. 360.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_20_20" href="#FNanchor_20_20" class="label">[20]</a> McCulloch’s <i>Dictionary of Commerce</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_21_21" href="#FNanchor_21_21" class="label">[21]</a> Space will not permit of more than a passing reference here, but much information as to the rise
+and progress of the whale-fishery will be found in McCulloch’s ‘Dictionary of Commerce,’ article
+“Whale-fishery;” Scammon’s ‘Marine Mammals of the North-western coast of North America;’
+Starbuck’s ‘History of the American Whale Fishery;’ Mr. C. R. Markham’s ‘The Threshold of the
+Unknown Region;’ Capt. A. H. Markham’s book above referred to; and above all in Scoresby’s
+excellent works, which have been extensively laid under contribution by nearly all subsequent writers—‘An
+Account of the Arctic Regions, with a History and Description of the Northern Whale-fishery’
+(2 vols., 1820), and ‘A Journal of a Voyage to the Northern Whale-fishery,’ in 1822.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_22_22" href="#FNanchor_22_22" class="label">[22]</a> Blackstone mentions a curious old feudal law, to the effect “that on the taking of a Whale on
+the coasts, which is a royal fish, it shall be divided between the king and queen; the head only being
+the king’s property, and the tail of it the queen’s. ‘<i>De Sturgione observetur, quod rex illum habebit
+integrum: de balena vero sufficit, si rex habeat caput, et regina caudam.</i>’ The reason of this whimsical
+division, as assigned by our ancient records, was, to furnish the Queen’s wardrobe with whalebone”!—Blackstone’s
+‘Commentaries,’ 1783 edit., vol. i., p. 223.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_23_23" href="#FNanchor_23_23" class="label">[23]</a> Owen, ‘Anat. of Vert.,’ iii., pp. 546 and 553.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_24_24" href="#FNanchor_24_24" class="label">[24]</a> Dr. Brown, in the paper before quoted, states that they couple from June to August, and bring
+forth in March or April. See also a note on ‘The Time and Manner of the Procreation of some
+Species of Whales,’ in the ‘Zoologist’ for 1845, p. 1161.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_25_25" href="#FNanchor_25_25" class="label">[25]</a> ‘Recent Memoirs on the Cetacea, by Professors Eschricht, Reinhardt and Lilljeborg,’ edited
+by Prof. Flower, Ray Society, 1866.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_26_26" href="#FNanchor_26_26" class="label">[26]</a> ‘Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist.,’ 1878 (11), p. 495.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_27_27" href="#FNanchor_27_27" class="label">[27]</a> ‘Bemærkninger til Norges Pattedyrfauna,’ p. 100. (Særskilt Afryk af ‘Nyt Mag. for
+Naturvsk’) 1876.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_28_28" href="#FNanchor_28_28" class="label">[28]</a> ‘Arctic Voyages of Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld,’ 1858-1879, pp. 51-2.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_29_29" href="#FNanchor_29_29" class="label">[29]</a> ‘Geographical Distribution of Mammalia,’ by Andrew Murray, 1866, p. 211.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_30_30" href="#FNanchor_30_30" class="label">[30]</a> ‘Natural History of the Sperm Whale,’ p. 28.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_31_31" href="#FNanchor_31_31" class="label">[31]</a> ‘Geographical Distribution of Mammalia,’ pp. 211-13.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_32_32" href="#FNanchor_32_32" class="label">[32]</a> ‘Transactions’ of the Zoological Society, viii., p. 203.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_33_33" href="#FNanchor_33_33" class="label">[33]</a> <i>Ibid.</i> x., p. 415.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_34_34" href="#FNanchor_34_34" class="label">[34]</a> <i>Ibid.</i>, p. 435.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_35_35" href="#FNanchor_35_35" class="label">[35]</a> <i>Zoologist</i>, 1878, p. 319.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_36_36" href="#FNanchor_36_36" class="label">[36]</a> Bell’s ‘Brit. Quad.’ p. 426.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_37_37" href="#FNanchor_37_37" class="label">[37]</a> Collett, ‘Norges Pattedyrfauna,’ p. 99.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_38_38" href="#FNanchor_38_38" class="label">[38]</a> ‘Zoology of H. M. S. Challenger,’ part iv., p. 29.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_39_39" href="#FNanchor_39_39" class="label">[39]</a> <i>Proc. Zool. Soc.</i>, 1871, pp. 41-53.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_40_40" href="#FNanchor_40_40" class="label">[40]</a> <i>Proc. Zool. Soc.</i>, 1879, pp. 667-9 (by which Society the above woodcut was kindly lent).</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_41_41" href="#FNanchor_41_41" class="label">[41]</a> Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 3rd series, vol. 17, p. 312.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_42_42" href="#FNanchor_42_42" class="label">[42]</a> Read before the Royal Danish Society of Sciences, in 1862.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_43_43" href="#FNanchor_43_43" class="label">[43]</a> Trans. Zool. Soc., vol. viii, p. 3.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_44_44" href="#FNanchor_44_44" class="label">[44]</a> <i>l. c.</i>, p. 13.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_45_45" href="#FNanchor_45_45" class="label">[45]</a> <i>l. c.</i>, p. 18.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_46_46" href="#FNanchor_46_46" class="label">[46]</a> <i>Trans. Zool. Soc.</i>, vol. xi., p. 2, with plate.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_47_47" href="#FNanchor_47_47" class="label">[47]</a> <i>Trans. Zool. Soc.</i>, vol. xi., p. 5.</p></div>
+
+
+<hr class="full">
+
+<div class="transnote">
+  Transcriber note<br>
+  Spelling and punctuation errors have been corrected.<br>
+  Corrections listed in Errata have been applied to the text.
+</div>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77840 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for eBook #77840
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