2 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



thereof, contained in its intestine, and formed, doubtless, as 

 also in the Cachalot, as a by-product of the digestion of its 

 cuttlefish food. 



But in all the years we are considering, only twenty of 

 these whales are reported to have been landed at our Scottish 

 stations. I imagine that while this small whale is remunera- 

 tive when caught in considerable numbers, and when "tried 

 out" at sea, it does not pay to tow it ashore, as has to be 

 done in Scotland, from the often distant fishing-grounds. 

 The few of which we have record were mostly captured to 

 the northward of Shetland and of Rona, and we may deal 

 with them in a word or two. 



Of our twenty individuals, ten were landed during the 

 month of -June, the rest from April to September; eight in 

 191 2, seven in 191 3, and two, one, two respectively in 1909, 

 1910, and 191 1. Fourteen out of the twenty were females, 

 or 70 per cent, of the whole. 



The lengths of the males varied from 13 to 22 feet; of 

 the females from 16 to 25 feet. The median values were, 

 respectively, iSi and 21 feet, and the arithmetical means 

 17-8 and 20-7 feet. The mean length, for both sexes together, 

 was 19-8 feet. From this it would appear that not one of 

 our Bottlenoses was full grown, for specimens are recorded 

 up to and a little over 30 feet long. 



In girth these Bottlenoses varied froni 7 to 12 feet for the 

 males, and from 6 to 12 feet for the females, the arithmetical 

 means being 9-3 and 10-7 feet. The ratio of girth to length 

 was, for both sexes alike, approximately 52 per cent; but 

 the ratio varied individually from about 35 per cent, to 

 70 per cent. Our mean ratio is considerably higher than 

 we have found for the Finners the Bottlenose is, in general, 

 a thicker and a rounder whale. A Finner-whale of 60 feet 

 long, as we shall see, has an average girth of about 23 feet ; 

 if we could imagine a Bottlenose of 60 feet long, its girth on 

 the average would be about 31 feet. Captain David Gray 

 puts the ratio of girth to length higher still, stating that a 

 full-grown Bottlenose of 30 feet long would measure 20 feet 

 in girth ; as a matter of fact, some three or four of our twenty 

 Bottlenoses show a similarly high ratio: viz., a male of 17 



