ZOOLOGY. 17 
productive in this valuable mammal; and at the present 
day the Americans, if not the ‘Mudians’ themselves, reap 
no small benefit from the fishery. 
Whale beef is eagerly sought after by the coloured popu- 
lation of the Bermudas, and the cutting up of a carcase, 
after the operation of flinching, is a scene that few would 
desire to witness a second time. 
In towing a dead whale into port, the carcase is not 
unfrequently followed by its young calf, which never fails 
to fall a sacrifice to epicurean taste; the beef, or rather 
veal of the young animal, being considered good eating. 
A gun, of peculiar build, is sometimes used in the 
destruction of these animals. It is a short weapon, with a 
thick heavy barrel, and is fired from the shoulder, charged 
with a hollow and pointed metal tube, which explodes 
inside the whale, causing its instantaneous death. Instances 
have been known of the tube passing completely through 
the unhappy creature. 
The TRUE or GREENLAND WHALE (Balena mysticetus) 1s 
common on the east and south shores of Bermuda, where 
it is taken with boats, from March to July. 
The SPERMACETI WHALE (Physeter macrocephalus) seldom 
frequents the waters near the shore. One of these whales 
was captured off St. David’s Head, on the 28th of July, 
1851 ; a rare occurrence in the Bermudas, though the 
American whale vessels annually kill some of these valu- 
able creatures within sight of the Islands. 
In a communication to the Royal Society of London, 
written by a Mr. Richard Norwood, from Bermuda, and 
bearing date June 18th, 1667, we have the following con- 
cerning the whale tribe—‘“The killing of whales, it hath 
Oi. 
