130 



by the eddies of oceanic currents ; by feeding upon the sea-wrack, 1 or 

 may be upon the floating gulf- weed itself, or upon the lesser fish of 

 gregarious habits, so profusely abundant along the whole line of coast. 



The coral reefs which fringe the shores of Bermuda and Brazil seem 

 to afford shelter to the female and her suckling. 



Of the Megaptera Americana, Dr. Gray says : " This is doubtless the 

 whale described in Phil. Trans., vol. 1, p. 11, 132, where an account is 

 given of the method of taking it. It is described thus : Length of 

 adult 88 feet, the pectoral 26 feet (rather less than one-third of the 

 entire length), and the tail 23 feet broad. There are great bends (plaits) 

 underneath from nose to the navel ; a fin on the back, paved with fat 

 like the caul of a hog ; sharp, like the ridge of a house, behind ; head 

 pretty bluff, full of bumps on both sides ; back black, belly white, and 

 dorsal fin behind," " they fed much upon grass (Zostera) growing at the 

 bottom of the sea ; in their great bag of maw he found two or three 

 hogsheads of a greenish grassy matter." " Baleen from Bermuda, called 

 Bermuda Finner, is extensively imported ; it is similar to the baleen of 

 the Grey Pinner" (Cuvierius Sibbaldii, baleen of which is uniform deep 

 black). 



" The Norwega, M. Americana, is a humpback, which has a belly white 

 and smooth (?), back very dark bluish ; length, 50 to 55 feet. This whale 

 gives more oil than the Mystica. 



" The whalebone is short and sells well. The beach on which the 

 whales are cut up is strewed during the season with bones. There must 

 be the bones of 500 whales on the spot. The fishery is carried on at 

 Bahia on a much larger scale than at Caravellas." " Mystica (M. 

 Brasiliensis) differs from the Norwega in having the back black and the 

 belly and throat furrowed. Sometimes there are white spots on the 

 side. 



" The first whales appear in the Abrolhos waters at about the end of 

 May, and they stay until October. 



" The females often bring young calves with them, and appear to seek 

 the shelter of the reefs. The head-quarters of the Abrolhos fishery is 

 at Caravellas, or, rather, at the mouth of the river Caravellas, where are 

 situated the arma9oes or trying-houses. 



" The fishery begins at Bahia, according to Castelnau, about the 13th 

 of June, and lasts till the 21st September. At Caravellas, I was assured 

 that the whales always appeared later than at Bahia, and the fishery 

 does not always begin until the last week in June, continuing through 

 the month of September." 



It will be seen that the principal if not the only difference pointed 

 out by Dr. Hartt between the Norwega and the Mystica in their living 



1 The various species of the sea-wrack are included in the Natural Order of 

 Zosteraceae, and seen at low water on the rocks of all countries of the world. In a 

 recent state it is used largely as manure, its calcined ashes in the manufacture of 

 glass, and in the early times of this Colony for stuffing beds, &c. 



