VOYAGE OF THE 'ECLIPSE.' 49 



direction. The wind continued adverse throughout the 35th, so 

 that we made but little progress. Some Porpoises, Phoccsna 

 communis, were seen in the afternoon, the first I had seen so far 

 north : I apprehend therefore that they were beyond the northern 

 limit of their range.* 



On the 26th and 27th we had light head-winds with frequent 

 showers of snow. Crossed the Arctic Circle on the latter date, 

 and noticed the first Looms, Alca arra, and Rotches, Mergulus 

 alle ; also a few Bottle-nose Whales and one large Finner, most 

 probably Balcenoptera sihhaldu. On the evening of the 28th the 

 brightness of the northern sky indicated our approach to the ice, 

 and as we advanced towards it the teiuperature of the water, which 

 had previously stood for some time at 39°, began to fall, slowly 

 at first, more rapidly afterwards, until it stood at 29° F., when we 

 were within half a mile of the ice itself. The " West Ice," as it 

 is called by the whalers, lying along the east coast of Greenland, 

 northwards from Cape Farewell, renders its shores ice-bound 

 throughout the entire year, and thus limits the extent of open 

 water to the westward. Our position being lat. 70° U' N. and 

 long. 2° 23' W., the position of the ice-edge this season may be 

 considered normal. Schools of Bottle-nose Whales seen in the 

 afternoon, and at midnight we watched two large Finners playing 

 about the ice-edge. By their bluish grey colour and by the 

 diminutive size of tlieir dorsal fins I at once recognised the B. sib- 

 bcddii. I will embrace this opportunity of correcting a state- 

 ment in the ' Arctic Voyages of A. E. Nordenskiold' (p. 52). The 

 author says : — " It is probable that ' Finners' never live in colder 

 water than 2-5° C. (= 36-9° F.), and that the northern limit of 

 their distribution coincides with sea of this temperature." It is 

 a fact well known, to those on board the 'Eclipse' at least, that 

 this whale {Balcenoptera sibbalclii) is found in water quite as 

 cold as any other, BalcBiia mysticetus not excepted, I have seen 

 it in water below 32° quite as often as above it, and the reader by 

 referring to the Table appended will see how often the tem- 

 perature of the water was below 36°, and how often above it on 

 the days in which it is mentioned. Hereafter I hope to show that 

 its northern distribution, instead of being restricted to a line of 

 temperature at once arbitrary and unreasonable agrees more 



* For latitudes aud longitudes, temperatures, &c., see Table appended. 



