410 Mr. T. Southwell— A^o/ne Results of the 



varying from 6 inches to 16 feet, all obtained in one season 

 between the months of April and September, indicates that 

 the dates of birth must be very irregular. In three instances, 

 mentioned above, twins have been observed in this species. 



Two fresli slij)s of whalebone of B. musculus kindly sent 

 me by Mr. Haldane were coloured blue-black on the outer 

 margin, toning down to blue-grey for the first third of their 

 width, and merging into clear cream-yellow with a few longi- 

 tudinal stripes of blue-black in the second third, thence to 

 the inner margin wholly cream-yellow, the hairy fringe the 

 same colour as the portion from which it took origin. 

 The slips of bone measured 25 inches from the gum, to 

 which the bristles added 8 inches, and at the gum they were 

 121 inches wide. A small anterior slip was 11 inches long 

 and 4 inches wide, bristles 3^ inches long ; wholly a clear 

 pale cream-colour and very transparent. 



For about a month from 12th June in 1903 there was an 

 absence of "kril^' in the water, and the whales fed largely 

 on herrings, but in 1904 'Mcril^'' {Thysanopoda inermis) was 

 abundant and they consumed very few lierrings ; it was 

 quite evident that the kril was their favourite food, and the 

 whales which fed on it were in better condition than when of 

 necessity they were feeding on herrings. 



Mr. ilaldane informs me that, in addition to the double 

 row of hairs found under the chin in a tinner, he has found 

 ^' another double row on the upper jaic, beginning 3 feet from 

 the snout and running up to just beyond the blow-hole.'" 



North-west Atlantic. 



Passing to the western side of the Atlantic, we have now 

 to consider the results of the fin-whale fishery from the shores 

 of Newfoundland. 



In the year 189(3 the steamship ' Cabot/ of 160 tons, was 

 fitted out by a company at St. Johns for the purpose of 

 hunting fin- whales after the manner of the Norwegians. 

 At first the operations took place in Notre Dame Bay, and 

 subsequently in Plermitage Bay, but the number of factories 

 was gradually increased till, according to the Annual Report 

 of the Newfoundland Department of Fisheries for 1904, there 

 were fourteen of these establishments in operation, extending 

 around the island and as far north as Cape Charles on the 

 Labrador coast; and five others were expected to coaimence 

 operations in the spring of 1905. In the year 1903 there 

 were killed 858 whales, 345 of which were B. musculus, and 



