258 CETACEA. 



of time she continued thus to act, though closely pursued by the 

 boats; and inspired with courage and resolution by her concern 

 for her offspring, seemed regardless of the danger which sur- 

 rounded her. At length one of the boats approached so near 

 that a harpoon was hove at her; it hit, but did not attach itself. 

 A second harpoon was struck ; this also failed to penetrate, but 

 a third was more effectual and held. Still she did not attempt to 

 escape, but allowed other boats to approach, so that, in a few min- 

 utes, three more harpoons were fastened, and in the course of an 

 hour afterwards, she was killed." 



The Right Whale was formerly found in great numbers along 

 our own coast. The whale fishery, including this and the 

 Sperm- Whale, is prosecuted largely and with great success by 

 individuals and companies of men, subject however to great fluc- 

 tuations. "The first vessel constructed expressly for this fishery 

 was built at Nantucket in 1690." 



Of this genus, the other species are the B. marginata, Western 

 Australian Whale, Cape Whale; B. Japanica, Japan Whale; 

 B. antarctica, New Zealand Whale ; B. gibbosa, Scrag Whale ; 

 and the B. austrahs. 



Balaena Australis is the Cape or Southern Whale, inhabiting the 

 South Seas and of a uniform black color, measuring from thirty-five 

 to fifty feet. Its baleen, owing to the great curve of the upper 

 jaw, appears relatively longer than in the Northern Balaena, 

 usually reaching to about nine feet in a whale of forty feet. The 

 head is frequently covered with barnacles, layer above layer, 

 which, concealing its true color, give it a whitish appearance 

 quite unlike that of its northern relative. The pectoral fins are 

 longer and more pointed, while the lobes of the tail are less 

 marked than in the former species. 



II. GENUS. MEGAPTERA. (Large-finned.) 



This genus includes the Hump-Backed Whales, easily known 

 from the "Finners" by "being shorter and more robust, in hav- 

 ing the skull nearly one-fourth the entire length, the head wide 

 between the eyes, the mouth larger, the lip warty, and the nose 

 large and rounded. The plaits of the belly andthroat are broad. 

 The skull is intermediate between that of the Balaena and the Ba- 

 laenoptera. Four species are enumerated : M. longimana, found 

 in the North Sea, described by Dr. Johnson from a specimen cast 

 ashore at Newcastle, Eng., a*cl called Johnson's Hump-Backed 

 Whale ; M. Poeskop, the Poeskop, or Cape Hump-Back ; it is 

 the Roqual du Cap, of Cuvier, the Hump-Backed Whale of Ross' 



