140 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
over on its back, when the white colour somewhat tinged with 
slate-blue helped to make me more sure of my identification. 
At least a furlong further north (perhaps more) than where I had 
last seen the couple heading south, 1 counted four whales blowing 
at once, and heading north; there must therefore have been at 
least six whales altogether, perhaps more. I watched them for 
about a quarter of an hour continually blowing ; indeed one at 
least was almost constantly in sight. I feel sure they were all 
large Common Rorquals. They were all to landward of us, 
perhaps not so much as three miles out. The first mate (a 
native of the White Sea coast) said he had never previously seen 
whales so far in the White Sea. We thence went up the Novaya 
Zemlya coast (which we were unable to approach for pack-ice) 
as far as the north end of Méller Bay (lat. 72° 29’), thence back 
to Archangel, whence I returned westwards, coasting along the 
Murmanski and Finmarken coasts, but did not see another 
whale, a few Dolphins being the only cetaceans subsequently met 
with—in each case D. tursio, I believe. 
At Eretiki, Herr Goebel, the manager, told me that all the 
last whales were taken off Swjatoi Nos, that is, the eastern limit 
of the whalers’ cruising-ground, the latest dates of the capture of 
each species being—Common Rorqual, September 2nd; Hump- 
back, September 16th ; and Blue Whale, September 18th. 
Capt. Andrieff (Imp. Russian Navy), of Arra, kindly showed 
me the different qualities of oil, of which there are six varieties, 
but only reckoned as three classes in the market, namely :— 
1st class: oil from the back of the Common Rorqual, which is 
clearer than that of the Blue Whale. 2nd class: 1st and 2nd 
qualities from the blubber of the under side, intestines, tongue, 
&e. 8rd class: 1st variety, from the under jaw-bone; 2nd do., 
from the muscles; 3rd do., from the residue. 
When watching the first pair of whales, on September 7th, 
I noticed three or four gulls—apparently Kittiwakes—stooping as 
if to pick something off the water close behind them. This might 
have been small fish or some form of invertebrate animal, forced 
up to the surface in the whirlpools caused by the whales; or it 
may have been something coming directly from the whales, as 
parasites (though no parasite has as yet been found, I believe, 
on the Common Rorqual), or oil, or droppings. 
I would suggest that it is probable that the whales leave the 
