202 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Nearly half the total of this last-named, however, were obtained 

 by Capt. Bull, off West Finmarken, who captured the extra- 

 ordinary number of liO, and at the same time obtained the 

 largest number of Blue Whales of any of the companies. The 

 other companies caught an average of seven Rudolphi's Rorquals 

 apiece. As Captain Horn at Jeretiki obtained three, and the 

 easternmost of the Norwegian boats caught just the average 

 number, this species evidently extended itself very generally 

 along the whole coast at least to beyond the Russian frontier. 



The whalers always run their passage northwards, " inden- 

 skjaers," — that is, inside the fringe of outlying islands, — and 

 consequently if they happen to cross West Fjord in the dark, 

 or in rough weather, they frequently see no whales until they 

 are to the eastward of the North Cape, or even throughout the 

 passage. 



Capt. Horn first saw whales — Common Rorquals and Hump- 

 backs—on his outward passage, on March 22nd, from the Nord- 

 kyn eastwards. Capt. Aloff (of the 'Nimrod') reports that he 

 saw no whales on his outward passage until after they had passed 

 Tanafjord, on April 4th, and then " only very occasionally, but 

 the}' were probably much farther out to sea." 



Capt. Berg, of Syltefjord, who reached his factory on March 

 26th, observed no whales on his passage north. Two days later 

 he started on his first trip after whales, and captured a Common 

 Rorqual. He found several of that species, as well as Humpbacks, 

 all along the coast from Nordkyn to the eastwards of Vardo, about 

 eight (? English) miles off shore. The latter species soon dis- 

 appeared, but the Finwhales continued their stay up to the 

 middle of May, mostly close in shore, or in the Fjords. In the 

 Syltefjord they were often seen in large numbers, even inside 

 the village, which is inhabited during the cod-fishing season 

 only. This was especially the case from the 20th to the 30th of 

 April, at the same time as very good catches of cod were being 

 made in the Fjord. 



During the fishing season no whales may be hunted within 

 three English miles of the land, but the weather being occasionally 

 pretty good, some stragglers would frequently be found taking an 

 airing outside the boundary, where the whalers speedily pounced 

 down upon them, and succeeded in capturing several. The 

 Capelan (Norw. Lodde = Mallotus arcticux) were plentiful off the 



