176 The Story of the New England Whalers 



two weeks or more during which none will be 

 visible. Vessels will be spoken from all points 

 of the compass, and to the question, 'Have you 

 seen any whales?' the answer will be, 'Not 

 for a week or ten days/ The busy and dull 

 seasons alternate uniformly over an area of 600 

 miles north and south by 900 miles east and west. 

 Bull whales often appear as though they have 

 been reposing on a muddy bottom, and off the 

 coast of New Zealand they have been seen with 

 such barnacles on their lower jaws as are found 

 on a ship's bottom." 



The brief length of time that whales are away 

 from their feeding grounds, as described by Gray 

 and Davis, forbids the idea that they migrate, 

 during that interval, to other feeding grounds; 

 for there are no other grounds within reach. 

 The only explanation of their disappearance 

 that seems reasonable is found in the hibernat- 

 ing habit. 



In connection with this idea of whale hiberna- 

 tion it is interesting to note a peculiarity of the cir- 

 culation of the blood in the whale. The amount 

 of blood in an adult is, of course, enormous. 



