126 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



one exceeded 60 ft. ; 70 ft. in length and 15 ft. bone are given as 

 the dimensions of one killed near Spitsbergen about the year L800, 

 but for the accuracy of the statement Scoresby does not vouch, and 

 probably it is an exaggeration. Years ago large solitary whales 

 were occasionally met with in the open Greenland Sea, and from 

 that circumstance known as " Blue-water Whales," they have 

 been known to yield 28 to 30 tons of oil, with 12 ft. 6 in. bone, 

 weighing 30 cwt., but Capt. Gray has not known one of these 

 monsters to occur since the year 1875. Capt. Gray's Whale was 

 killed on the day following her Majesty's Jubilee (June 21st), 

 which he celebrated in lat. 74° 10' N., long. 15° W. 



1 have no particulars of the Norwegian Bottle-nose fishery, 

 but an extract from a Swedish paper quoted in the ' Board of 

 Trade Journal' for January, 1888, states that during the last two 

 years the fishery has been unusually flourishing, and that in 

 1886 the catch was 1311 fish; also that it is chiefly Norwegian, 

 Bussian, and English vessels that take part in the fishery, but 

 that a Hamburg firm has five whaling steamers in Spitzbergen, 

 all of which sail under the Norwegian flag. 



Mr. Bobert Gray has, as usual, kindly allowed me to see his 

 private "log," which contains a large number of interesting 

 observations. On the 27th April the ' Eclipse' captured a Bottle- 

 nose Whale in 71° 30' N., 3° 10' E., of which Mr. Gray gives 

 some accurate measurements; its stomach contained numerous 

 Cuttle-fish, which proved to be Gonatus fabricii, and its skin was 

 infested with Cyamus thomx>soni. When harpooned it remained 

 under water thirty-five minutes ; although when struck, no other 

 whales of this description were in sight, on its return to the 

 surface it was accompanied by a number of others of the same 

 species. This curious circumstance has been frequently remarked 

 with regard to the Sperm Whale, with which in many other 

 respects the habits of this species are very similar. A Norwegian 

 walrus-hunter was spoken, and is thus described by Mr. Gray : — 

 " The ' Flora' is a sloop of forty-five tons, manned by ten hands, 

 all told. She is here [78° 28' N., 0° 12' E.] hunting old Seals; 

 afterwards she goes to Spitzbergen to hunt Walrus. Last year 

 [1886] she went the same round, capturing 400 old Seals at the 

 "west ice," and 160 Walrus at Spitzbergen. Capt. Jansen says 

 that last year in the far north the ice was unusually open ; he 

 himself reached the high latitude of 81° 30' in August off North- 



