ZOOLOGY. — 'PHYSALIS. 481 



it at 200 fathoms from the harpoon, and affixing a 

 buoy to the end of it. Thus arranged, one of these 

 whales was shot and another struck. The former 

 dived with such impetuosity, that the line was bro- 

 ken by the resistance of the buoy as soon as it was 

 thrown into the water, and the latter was liberated 

 within a minute by the division of the line, occasion- 

 ed, it was supposed, by its friction against the dorsal 

 fin. Both of them escaped. Another physalis was 

 struck by one of my inexperienced harpooners, who 

 mistook it for a mysticetus. It dived obliquely with 

 such velocity, that 480 fathoms of line were with- 

 drawn from the boat in about a minute of time* 

 This whale was also lost by the breaking of the line. 



The following observations on this animal have 

 been derived from conversations with different per- 

 sons who have had opportunities of examining it 

 when dead. 



Length of a Physalis found dead in Davis' Strait, 

 105 feet ; greatest circumference about 88. Head 

 small compared with that of the common whale ; 

 fins long and narrow ; tail about 12 feet broad, fine- 

 ly formed ; whalebone 4 feet in length, thick, brist- 

 ly and narrow ; blubber 6 or 8 inches thick, of in- 

 different quality ; colour bluish-black on the back, 

 and bluish-grey on the belly ; skin smooth, except- 

 ing about the sides of the thorax, where longitudi- 

 nal rugffi or sulci occur. 



VOL. I. 



Hh 



