114 THE WHALEBONE WHALES OF THE WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC, 
Three feetuses found on the days immediately preceding my arrival at the 
station were as follows : 
Date. Length. Sex. 
Aug. 7 ft. 1 in. Q 
8-3 
oe “ “cc “ 
9 ° ) 
“ “ “ 
4 (°F ii 3 
The smallest sexually-mature female taken at Snook’s Arm in 1899, as 
indicated by the presence of a fcetus, or of milk flowing from the mamme, was 
61 ft. 10 in. long, but as there is an interval of 4 ft. 4 in. between this length and 
the length of the largest female without foetus (57 ft. 6 in.), it may be supposed that 
the real minimum of maturity is somewhat less than as above given. That this 
is quite surely true is indicated by the measurements of total length obtained by 
Cocks from the Norwegian whalers (18, 9 sep.). Cocks cites 25 females as 
containing foetuses. These varied in length from 76 ft. 3 in. to 55 ft. 7 in.,’ the latter, 
therefore, representing the minimum. 
The next largest specimen containing a foetus was 57 ft. 8 in. long.” The mean 
length of the 25 specimens was between 67 ft. and 68 ft. and the average length 65 
fii 
Revising the caleulation of average length of females at Snook’s Arm, by 
throwing out the two respectively 54 ft. and 50 ft. 7 in. long, as most certainly 
immature, we have 68 ft. 10 in. as the average for mature females. 
A second station of the Cabot Steam Whaling Company was established in 
the fall of 1899 on the south coast of Newfoundland in an arm of Hermitage Bay, 
recently named McCallum Bay. The station received the name of Balena. The 
records of this station, which were kindly placed at my disposal, show that 15 
Common Finbacks (all males but one) were taken there during the year 1900, and 
11 during the year 1901, to July 3d. Adding these 26 specimens to the 25 meas- 
ured at Snook’s Arm in 1899, the average total length for the whole 51 specimens 
of both sexes is 59 ft. 1,4, in.* 
These various calculations are brought together on page 115 for comparison. 
‘74 to 54 feet, Norwegian. 
* 56 feet, Norwegian. 
* The following are measurements of females stranded on the European coast, which according 
to the records contained foetuses: 
Date. Locahty. Length, Authority, 
1878 Monte Rosso, Italy 22 m. Van Beneden 
1879 Groix Id., France 20.8 m. Pouchet 
1859 Port Vendres “ 20 mM. Van Beneden 
1863 Cape Creux, Spain 19.5 m. “ 
The smallest of these, 19} metres, or 63 ft. 1135 In., is considerably larger than the Snook’s Arm 
minimum. 
Out of rro records of strandings on the coasts of Europe, which I have collected, the four cited 
above are the only ones in which the presence of a foetus is noted. 
“The average total length of the 14 males taken at Balena station in 1900 was 55 feet 7745 in. 
The length of the single female was 59 feet. The sex of the specimens taken in 1901 was not 
recorded. 
