406 Mr. T. Soutliwell— .S'ome EesuUs of the 



food; but- as tlie result of persecution they soon discarded 

 the shore, and the final area in which their jtursuit took 

 place was off the coast of La{)land to the north of 70° N. lat., 

 especially between So;oen on the west and Varanger Fjord 

 oti the east, but extendiug below 70° N. off the Murmanski 

 coast (Russia) to Swjatoi Nos in about longitude 40° E. 



The fin-whales killed, in the order of their frequency, are as 

 follows : — 



Bal^noptera musculus, Linn. 



Norwegian Area. 



1'he common rorqual (finhval, sildehval, or rorhval of the 

 Norwegians). This, the most numerous species, occurs from 

 March to the early part of September : 473 were killed in the 

 season of 1885, 646 in 1886, 463 in 1887, and from that 

 year the numbers began to decline ; this decline in the number 

 of whales, added to the legal restrictions already referred to, 

 led to the removal of some of the factories to Iceland, the 

 result of which, so far as known, will be included in the 

 Shetland fishery. 



The common rorqual is so well known a species that no 

 description of the normal form is needed, but it is subject to 

 considerable variation both in form and coloration ; the most 

 important of these is frequently referred to by Mr. Cocks as 

 well known to the Norwegian whalers under the name of 

 " bastarder^^ or bastard whales, and commonly believed to be 

 the joint offspring of the common rorqual and the blue whale 

 {B. iSibhaldii), It appears to attain larger dimensions than 

 the type of the species, and is described as grey rather than 

 white on the under surface ; the anterior baleen-plates are 

 white, and the remaining portions darker than normal; the 

 average length of eight females was 68 feet and of five males 

 70 feet, but 80 feet appears to be no uncommon length. 

 The " bastards ^^ killed in 1887 averaged nearly 5 feet longer 

 than those of the normal type. 



Another well-recognized variety is known as the " lodde- 

 hval,''' i. e. capelan whale. This is the common fin-whale of 

 the north; it is white under the belly, and disappears at the 

 end of April. The fin-whale which then comes, Capt. 

 Ellevsen informed Mr. Cocks, " has more or less grey colour 

 among the white, especially on one side [an asymmetrical 

 disposal of colour common to all the rorquals], its snout is 

 generally more pointed, and the whale is more slender and 



