observed on the coasts of Cornwall. 437 



more than 16 feet in length, were observed to keep themselves 

 separate from other species, while they remained about the same 

 place for a few weeks. In August 1853, I noticed a herd of 

 Cetaceans, eight or ten in number, all of which were cream- 

 coloured ; and on another occasion I traced the actions of a herd, 

 as well when under water as above, and saw among them a single 

 white one, which accompanied them in all their movements. 

 But as thus it appears highly probable that some tribes of these 

 animals are much disposed to assume a white appearance, and 

 perhaps by keeping constantly in one herd preserve this distinc- 

 tion in the race for several generations, on the other hand there 

 is reason for believing that we are sometimes visited by the 

 Beluga, which is pre-eminently called the White Whale; and 

 that there is also a species of which white or a light grey is the 

 prevailing colour, but which has not yet been scientifically 

 recognized. 



White Whale.— De^^mw^ albicans, Jenyns' Manual, p. 43. 

 Delphinaptera albicans, Fleming's Brit. An. p. 36. Beluga 

 ' leucas, BelPs Brit. An. p. 488. 



The following description of a species of Whale that was seen 

 in Mount's Bay in 1854, communicated by a friend, can only 

 apply to the well-known Beluga, an inhabitant of the Northern 

 Seas. It was judged to be about 10 feet in length : the head 

 blunt, of a conoidal form : the body spindle-shaped, or tapering 

 much towards the tail : no dorsal fin ; and as on one occasion it 

 rose above the surface, the pectoral fins were seen to be very 

 small : the mouth small : the body a reddish-cream colour. It 

 remained in the bay for several weeks, and appeared to be feed- 

 ing on pilchards. 



The only x*eason for doubting whether the following account 

 refers to the same species, arises from the mention of a dorsal 

 fin ; but as this was assigned to a situation on the body where 

 it is unusual, if not unknown, in any known whale, it is more 

 probably a mistake of the observer. It was about mid-channel 

 that the fisherman found himself surrounded by a nmltitude of 

 whales, the numbers of which he estimated by hundreds, scat- 

 tered as they were over a wide space, where they were feeding on 

 herrings. He saw them for several days in succession ; and they 

 were so little afi-aid, that they came very near his boat, and even 

 went under it at no great depth in the water. They were all 

 white, or a pale grey, about 18 feet long, and remarkably slen- 

 der, the proportions being much like those of the blue shark. 

 He supposed he could perceive a low fin on the back, about 

 4 feet from the head. In some instances, about half the body 



