338 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
was not known what became of the skin. Latterly a chamois-hunter of the 
Grisons declares that last autumn (1877) in the course of one of his many 
expeditions he saw two white chamois, so that the appearance of that 
variety is not an occurrence absolutely extraordinary, but except in the 
case of the one on the Sandalp, it would seem that it is only this one 
district of the Canton of the Grisons which has the peculiar favour of 
possessing this rarity. Happily for these interesting animals, this mountain 
district is strictly preserved. It is probable that the white chamois are 
always albinos, and consequently constitute an anomaly rather than a 
species. Nevertheless this question does not appear to be absolutely 
decided, as it has been in case of hares, for instance. The hare of the 
plains are sometimes found under the form of the white variety, says 
Tschudi, but it must not be confounded with that of the white variety of 
the Alps, because it had the eye rose-coloured like all albinos, and remains 
white all the year round. The white hare of the Alps, on the contrary, is 
generally found at an altitude of from 5000 feet to 8000 feet, and is white 
only in winter, for the colour of its fur only changes with the first severe 
cold. The points of the ear are the only parts of the skin the fur of which 
remains dark-coloured, and its eyes, far from being red, are even darker 
than those of the common hare. In summer the fur is grey with an olive 
tint mixed with black. The fur on the stomach only remains white, as 
also does a part of the ear. 
PorpoisE-Huntinc 1 Norway 1n Open Times.—The contemplated 
activity of the ancient porpoise-hunting guild at Middelfart, in the island 
of Fiihnen, the oldest corporation of this kind in Norway, has led to an 
interesting correspondence in the ‘ German Fishery Gazette,’ from which it 
appears that the inhabitants of Middelfart have carried on the sea-hog or 
porpoise-hunting as far back as the thirteenth century. This is clearly 
ascertained from old documents of the sixteenth century, indicating that 
the fishermans’ guild of Middelfart had been prosecuting this porpoise- 
catching for some centuries back. The first statutes of the guild bear the 
date of the year 1559, being confirmed the same year by a royal decree 
granting to the inhabitants of Middelfart the exclusive right of porpoise- 
hunting in the Little Belt. This privilege had to be renewed whenever a 
new ruler ascended the throne, the fishery being carried on uninterruptedly 
till more recent times, except during the period of the Anglo-Danish war, 
when fishing ceased altogether. A reconstruction of the statutes was 
effected in 1854, receiving the royal assent in the following year, but the 
hunt has never since succeeded in reaching the same standard of prosperity 
it enjoyed in former times. The hunt always commenced on the 11th 
November, and lasted till the 2nd February, all the members of the guild 
being under the obligation to take part, and disqualified from engaging in - 
