220 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



of taking an occasional Bottle-nose, and many years ago the 

 " Chieftain," of Kirkcaldy, caught 28 of them off Frobisher 

 Strait; but it was not till 1877, when the "Jan Mayen," then 

 of Peterhead, having missed the Seals, succeeded in taking 10 

 Bottle-noses, that their pursuit attracted much attention. Since 

 that time, however, they have been more sought for, and now most 

 of the smaller vessels hunt for them every season, while some of 

 the larger vessels, in the interval between the finish of the Seal- 

 fishery and the commencement of the whaling, go south to the 

 north-east coast of Iceland for the same purpose. In 1880 Captain 

 Gray, of the "Eclipse," killed 32 of these Whales, and in 1881 

 he secured 39, and but that his hands were new to the work, lie 

 might have obtained a still larger number. They yield about a 

 ton of oil each, but, of course, no bone. 



The occurrence of this species in large numbers in the northern 

 seas is of great interest. On our coasts it is generally met with in 

 late autumn, probably on its return south from its summer 

 quarters. It is then almost always solitary, or the adult female is 

 accompanied by its young one. It has long been a question whether 

 there are one or two northern species of Hyperoodon; in some 

 skulls the maxillary crests being developed to an extraordinary degree, 

 and flattened out in front. This form of skull is supposed by some 

 to belong to a distinct species, which has been called Hyperoodon 

 latifrons, but the creature which owns it has never been examined 

 in the flesh by a competent naturalist ; by others the peculiar 

 maxillary development is believed to be a sexual peculiarity 

 existing only in the adult males. It is doubtful whether the adult 

 male of H. rostratus has ever occurred on our coasts, and there is no 

 evidence of a female of the latifrons type having been met with. 

 Until a female of the latifrons form is met with, or an adult male 

 of the rostratus, the matter must remain doubtful ; now, however, 

 that these creatures are captured in such abundance, and the atten- 

 tion of Capt. Gray has been called to the matter, we may hope for 

 a speedy solution of the question. Capt. Gray met with a " herd " 

 of Bottle-noses on the seventh day out from Bressay Sound, and 

 saw them almost daily afterwards ; most of his captures were made 

 in about latitude 68° N., and longitude 3° to 8° West. Of the 

 39 individuals which he captured in 1881, the sexes of 19 were 

 noted — 8 being males, and 11 females. The whole of these 39 

 were taken between the 19th April and the 20th May. 



