50 THE WHALEBONE WHALES OF THE WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC. 



Danish Scientific Society's Afhandlinger and SJcrifter, 1845-1849. 1 Being in the 

 Danish language, they are a sealed book to many zoologists, who either lack the 

 opportunity, or have not the inclination, to acquire that tongue. For this reason 

 they were not appreciated by Eschricht's contemporaries as they might have been. 

 Feeling this himself, he undertook to republish the series in German with many 

 changes and additions, but the German edition was never completed. More will be 

 said of it later. The essays themselves were preceded by several short papers, begin- 

 ning in 1840, in which the scope and objects of the investigations were described. 

 The essays may be summarized as follows : 



ESSAY 1. Remarks on tlie earlier and present phases of cetology. 



In this essay Eschricht treats chiefly of the history of different departments of 

 cetology, beginning with the Delphinidae. The genus Hyperoodon is briefly consid- 

 ered, and afterwards he treats of the sperm whale in much detail. Next follow 

 the baleen whales, of which there are stated to be two groups Right whales and 

 Finbacks. Regarding the former, Eschricht remarks: "Since Cuvier's time two 

 kinds are usually distinguished, the northern BaloBna mysticetus, and the southern, 

 B. australis." At this date Eschricht seems not to have discovered that the Nord- 

 caper was distinct from B. mysticetus or even from the Humpback. 



He next takes up the question of geographical distribution, notes the reduction 

 in numbers of whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but combats the theory that the 

 distribution area shrinks at any time. He refers to the distribution of the Right 

 whale in the South Atlantic, and quotes Holboll as to the migrations of the 

 Greenland whale on the west coast of Greenland. He mentions Dudley and gives 

 the seasons for the whale fishery and other details. 



Next come the Finbacks, including under that head the Humpbacks. He 

 describes their distribution; mentions Sibbald, the anonymous writer in the Phil. 

 Trans., etc. ; cites their use as a food resource by Greenlanders and Norwegians, 

 and their relative value for oil, etc. He describes the early modes of fishing for 

 large whales in Norway and elsewhere ; quotes Fabricius's account of the Humpback 

 fishery in Greenland and also that of Holboll; states that the Greenlanders cared 

 little for the Finbacks, but that Humpbacks have been taken regularly at Greenland 

 and also at Bermuda. He then takes up the question as to whether the Basque 

 fishery of the sixteenth and seventeenth century may not have been for Finbacks, 



1 i. Bemaerkninger over Cetologiens tidligere og naervasrende Skjebne. Dansk. Videns. Sehk. 

 nalur. og math. Afhandl., n, 1845, PP- 129-202. 



2. Anatomisk Beskrivelse af de ydre Fosterformer hos to nordiske Finhval-Arter, med Anven- 

 delse paa Physiologien og Zoologien. Do., pp. 203-279. 



3. Om Fosterformerne i Bardehvalernes Ernaerings- og Forplantelsesredskaber. Do., pp. 

 281-320, pis. 1-4. 



4. Om Nsebhvalen. Do., pp. 321-378, pis. 5-8. 



5. Finhvalernes Osteologie og Artsadskillelse. Do., 12, 1846, pp. 225-396, pis. 9-16. 



6. Udbytte paa en Reise gjennem det nordvestlige Europa i Sommeren 1846, som Tillaeg til 

 de foregaaende Afhandlinger. Dansk. Videns. Selsk. Skrifter, $te Raekke, natur. og math. Afd., i, 

 1849, pp. 85-138. 



