North' Atlantic Fin- Whale Fishenj. 411 



in 1904: tlie number was 1275, of wliicli GOO were tlie species 

 under consideration. 



I am not able to g-ive llie proportion of males to females of 

 these 1035 " finners/^ but of the total catch of various species 

 for the tAvo years, numbering 2133 (the sex of one was not 

 recorded), 1192, or 55"91 per cent., were males, and 940j or 

 44*09 per cent., were females. It may be well to give here 

 the numbers of each species (although they will be repeated 

 as tliey come separately to be considered). They were as 

 follows : — 



Finners .... 1035 

 Sulphur-bottoms. . 489 

 Humpbacks . . . 568 



Radolphi .... 39 



Sperm 1 



Unknown .... 1 



The preponderance of finners will be noticed here also. 

 After the middle of July the finners are found in Notre Dame 

 Bay, where they are most numerous in August ; in October 

 they become scarce and in poor condition, and finally leave 

 the coast. 



In the year 1899 Dr. F. W. True, of the U.S. National 

 Museum, Washington, paid a first visit to the whaling-station 

 at Snook's A.rra, Notre Dame Bay, and as the result of this 

 and subsequent visits there appeared in 1904 a most 

 exhaustive treatise on the '"VVhalebone Whales of the 

 W^estern North Atlantic,' wherein, with all the thoroughness 

 M'hich characterizes the work of that gentleman, he enters 

 minutely into the history of the species of the whales 

 frequenting those regions, and compares them with those 

 inhabiting the European waters. I am thus enabled to avail 

 myself of Dr. Trucks carefully compiled statistics in what 

 follows. 



In 39 examples where the sex was noted 24 were males 

 and 15 females ; the males averaged 58 ft. 7 in. and the 

 females 62 ft. 3 in. Ten of the females killed in the month 

 of August contained foetuses or were accompanied by young : 

 of seven foetuses measured by Dr. True, one on the 5th 

 August measured 6 ft. 5 in., another on 15th August 15 ft. 

 2 in., and a third on the 27th August 6 ft. 10^ in.; it is 

 evident therefore that, as in the European waters, the date of 

 pairing must vary considerably. No instance of twin foetuses 

 is mentioned. 



The average length of the longest slip of baleen in six 

 individuals over 55 feet in length, measured from the gum 

 and exclusive of the bristles, is given as 2I5 inches. 



The following table shows the average measurements of a 



