MODERN FIN-WHALING 177 



" Seiwhale," is another common species in northern waters, 

 but is not so much souo-ht after owingr to its inferior size. 

 The baleen, however, is most valuable of all, next to that of 

 the two Right Whales. Its general habits are similar to the 

 last named, but it is much swifter in its movements than 

 either of them. When first struck it races off at great 

 speed — Norwegians say 25 knots an hour; but this is 

 seldom maintained for more than a quarter of an hour, and 

 it is then easily killed. This whale often comes close in 

 shore, like the Humpback, and may often be seen in the 

 tideways of Scotland close to the northern islands. 



The last of the whales which form the prey of the Balcsn- 

 optera hunters is the Humpback {Megaptera boops). It is 

 a very strong, thick-set animal, 50 feet long and often 40 feet 

 in circumference. It varies in colour from jet black all over 

 with white outer edges to its 15-foot pectoral fins to black 

 above and white underneath. The throat and breast grooves 

 are deeper and not so numerous as in the other varieties of 

 this group. No whale has so wide a distribution as the 

 Humpback, and it is safe to say that it is found in all the 

 large waters, whether warm or cold. It is very numerous 

 along the Antarctic ice, the Indian Ocean, the sea off the 

 Cape, and south to New Zealand. In the Pacific Islands 

 it is numerous, and there it is hunted with small boats ; in 

 the Vancouver and Behring Straits it is found in summer. 

 In the North Atlantic it is abundant on both sides and, I 

 believe, constantly passes from America to Shetland and 

 Norway. It also frequents the White Sea, Iceland, Green- 

 land, and the coast of Labrador at various seasons. 



At Tobago and Santa Lucia the Humpback fishery is 

 worked by Americans. Captain Scammon gives an interest- 

 ing account in his book of the Humpback in the Pacific, and 



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