WHALES LANDED AT SCOTTISH WHALING STATIONS 233 



we might accordingly be inclined at first sight to attribute 

 to a similarity of diet, and to its periodic scarcity or abund- 

 ance, these coincidences of locality and date in the case of 

 the two whales. But against this we have to set the fact 

 that the Sei-whale and the Humpback are also plankton- 

 feeders, and between their years of abundance and those 

 of the Nordcaper and the Blue-whale there may be some 

 but there is no close resemblance. We must be content to 

 wait for more light upon the subject. 



With regard to the season of the fishery, Hjort tells us 



30 



c 



3 

 or 



20 



10- 



1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 



FlG. 4. The Scottish Catch of Blue-whales and Nordcapers, 1908-1914. 



that in Iceland it is at its height in June and July, and he 

 gives (p. 135) for the year 1901 the following particulars 

 from Captain Berg's journals : 



Iceland Catch of Blue-whales \ 1901. 



March 



No. of whales 

 Per cent. 



April. 



6 



7.0 



May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Total. 



II 26 27 14 1 85 



12-3 30-6 31-8 16-5 1.2 1000 



In Finmark the season begins in June (rarely in May) 

 and lasts till the end of August. In other words, it is 

 distinctly later off the Scottish coast than either in Iceland 

 or Finmark, and rather later in Finmark than in Iceland. 

 Guldberg 1 adds some further particulars to the story. 

 He tells us that in the beginning of the season at Iceland 

 the Blue-whales are seen coming up from the westward, 

 and that they continue their migration towards the east ; 

 and that the whalers have seen small herds (mostly males) 

 1 Biolog. Centralbl., 1904, xxiv., pp. 381-384. 



