CHAP. II.] WHALES AND WHALERS. 45 



the female, and is more shy and wild. The season 

 in which whaling is carried on is from May to Oc- 

 tober. In the beginning of May the cows approach 

 the shallow coasts and smooth waters for the pur- 

 pose of bringing forth their young. This period 

 lasts about four months, as in May w r hales are seen 

 with newly-born calves, and cows have been killed 

 in July in full gestation. During the same months 

 also copulation is sometimes observed by the whalers. 

 But from these data it is impossible to draw a con- 

 clusion on the real period of gestation in these huge 

 animals, which has never yet been satisfactorily de- 

 termined. In company with the cows are also the 

 calves of the preceding year or years, for it is still 

 uncertain at what age the whale attains its full size 

 and leaves the mother ; these young whales are 

 called scrags, and they yield about four tuns of oil. 



It appears that the female generally produces but 

 one calf at a birth : the cow is indeed sometimes 

 seen with two ; and although in this case it is the 

 opinion of the whalers that one is an orphan calf, 

 yet it is probable that the black whale, like the 

 northern sperm whale, occasionally produces twins. 

 A calf, which appeared full grown, and which was 

 cut out of the mother a short time before my arrival 

 in Te-awa-iti, measured fourteen feet. 



The whale is a truly migratory animal, and its 

 migrations are the most interesting part of its 

 history. They arrive at the coasts of New Zealand 

 in the beginning of May from the northward, go 

 through Cook's Straits, keeping along the coast of 



