100 M, Baer on Animal Life in Nova Zenibla. 



white as animals of the weasel genus ; and, on the other, it is 

 also possible that the animal was a weasel. In Spitzbergen, 

 also, a little white mammiferous animal has been noticed, 

 whose exact nature is undetermined. 



The sea mammalia are more important ; for, in their pur- 

 suit, many expensive expeditions are yearly fitted out by the 

 inhabitants of the White Sea ; whose success, however, is un- 

 fortunately so precarious, that they may be truly compared to 

 a game at hazard. When the sea is unusually fi'ee of ice, the 

 losses are very great ; but the success of a single day may 

 make up the loss of a whole year. For this reason these 

 hunting undertakings have been renewed year after year for 

 centuries, although they are sometimes complete failures. The 

 usual consequence of a lucky year is, that, on the following 

 one, many ships proceed to Nova Zembla, and that either too 

 great havoc is committed among these, for the most part, gre- 

 garious animals, or at least they are frightened away. Thus 

 in 1834, after some years of intermission had occurred, *the 

 .speculation was an extremely good one ; and in the year 1835, 

 about 80 .ships sailed to Nova Zembla, whose united amount 

 of men must have been at least 1000. In 1834, the number 

 fell one-half. In the current year"' there were not much above 

 20 ships, and only one, which entered the Kara Sea, obtained 

 great success ; one or two got enough to pay theu- expenses, 

 but most of the remainder lost more than half the cost of their 

 outfit. 



The most valuable animal in these marine hunting expedi- 

 tions is the vralrus ; and next to it is the dolphin (Delphinus 

 leucas), termed the white whale, but which there receives the 

 name of Bjelaclia or Bjeluga. Among the seals, the species 

 which affords the richest return, both on account of its size 

 and its abundance of fat, is the sea-hare (JSlorskoi sajaz) Phoca 

 leporina, Lep. Phoca albigena Pallas, but probably not difi^er- 

 ent from the Phoca harhata of Fabricius. The Phoca gro&n- 

 landica, according to its age and sex, receives very different 



* M. Baer descended the river Dwina from Archangel on the 19th July 

 1837, and returned to Archangel on the 11th September of the same year. — 

 Editor. 



