88 The Scottish Naturalist. 



and remaining till the beginning of June, and sometimes 

 a little later ; those frequenting the shallow water being the 

 cow-whales with their young, the bulls probably keeping in 

 the deeper waters outside the reefs. While sailing from Bermuda 

 to NovaScotia in the month of June, I observed large troops of the 

 blow — or true whale, all heading to the north, no doubt on their 

 way from the Bermudas and the warmer seas. In confirmation 

 of this migration of the whale to Bermuda it may be interesting 

 to quote from Mr. Jones' very entertaining little book, *'The 

 Naturalist in Bermuda," the following extract from a letter written 

 by a Mr. Richard Stafford to the Royal Society, nearly 200 years 

 ago, and dated Bermuda, i6th July, 1688 : ''We have hereabouts 

 very many sorts of fishes. There is amongst them great store of 

 whales, which in March, April, and.May, use our coast. I have 

 myself killed many of them. Their females have abundance 

 of milk, which their young ones suck out of the teats, that 

 grow by their navel. They have no teeth, but feed on moss, 

 growing on the rocks at the bottom during these three months, 

 and at no other season of the year. When that is consumed 

 and gone, the whales go away also." 



Even some of the Crustacea may be considered in a measure 

 as performing partial or local migration, as for instance those 

 singular creatures the landcrabs of the West Indies and some 

 other places, which by the peculiar formation of their respiratory 

 organs are enabled to live on land as well as water. At certain 

 times of the year they descend from the mountains to the sea, 

 in large bands, for the purpose of depositing their )^oung,*and 

 return again to their former haunts when these duties are 

 accomplished. 



With regard to land mammalia, though they cannot, as 

 previously stated, be considered true migrants, still we have 

 a very near approach to it in the American Bison, which 

 in large bands traverse nearly the whole lengtli of the North 

 American continent, returning again in their due season ; this 

 movement however is regulated by the supply of food, necessary 

 to mamtain the vast herds which inhabit the Prairies, and not 

 for the reproduction of their young. From their rapid decrease 

 however, and wanton destruction by the hand of man, these 

 animals may in time, from reduced numbers, completely alter 

 their habits. In Lapland we see, on the other hand, the little 

 Lemming, not much bigger than a mouse, at certain times 

 moving, it is said, in such large armies that the whole face 



