438 DISCOVERY REPORTS 



the number of whales in each length group, the different seasons and sexes being kept 

 separate as in the table. 



Blue Whales 



Fin Whales 



If one were dealing only with fully grown whales one would expect a curve con- 

 structed in this way to resolve itself into something like a normal frequency curve, the 

 medium-sized whales being commonest and the larger and smaller whales progressively 

 fewer. But as young whales in several stages of growth are included in the catches, the 

 beginning or left-hand side of the curve (representing the smaller whales) may be 

 expected to rise more gradually, and over a greater range of size, than the right-hand 



