64 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 



brought into requisition my first experience in cutting the masses of 

 skin and bkibber. At first the men found it very difficult to cut, 

 but gradually they overcame the difficulty as the sea became calmer, 

 I am glad to say that I was fortunate in securing the whole skeleton 

 complete, including even the small rudiments of the hind leg. 



The bones were conveyed by double bullock carts to Colombo, 

 and were stored in the cadjan shed side by side with the Mannar 

 whale. 



Dii-ectly the new Director (Dr. Pearson) assumed duties here in 

 September, 1910, he decided to have this skeleton mounted, and 

 steps were taken to do so. The mounting of this skeleton has proved 

 to be the biggest job undertaken at the Museum. 



The preliminary work, which was done in the taxidermist's work- 

 shop, was carried out in the face of great difficulties owing to the 

 limited amount of room. (Figure 2 shows a portion of the whale 

 skeleton during the course of its preparation in the workroom.) 



The skeleton of this whale, which measures about 65 feet in 

 total length, is now suspended from the ceiling of the Mammalian 

 Gallery. (Fig. 3.) Thus, after lying unmounted for seventeen 

 years, it now ranks as one of the finest exhibits in the Museum. 



In July, 1904, another carcase of a Sperm Whale {Physeter macro- 

 cephalus) was washed ashore at the village of Aturuwella, about 

 4 miles from Bentota, on the south-west coast. The skull and a 

 few vertebrse had already been dragged out of the reach of the tide, 

 and the rest of the body was in a high state of putrefaction. 



Another whale of the same species was washed ashore near the 

 Mount Lavinia Hotel in November, 1904. Dr. Willey and myself 

 visited both these places, and found that the specimens were not in 

 a fit state for the Museum. 



In August, 1910, a Great Indian Fin Whale was stranded at 

 Chilaw, on the west coast of Ceylon, drifted thither after the animal 

 had apparently met with death at the hands of harpooners, as marks 

 on the body seemed to indicate. The carcase was found near the 

 mouth of the Ded*uru-oya in a highly decomposed state. Rough 

 measurement gave the length as 66 feet, and a girth of 32 feet in 

 the thickest part. The two bones of the lower jaw were found on 

 the shore. They measured 19 feet length in each. The skeleton not 

 being perfect, and as there was already one perfect skeleton in the 

 Museum, it was decided not to secure this one. 



