VOYAGE OF THE ' ECLIPSE.' 127 



can the disappearance of B. sibhaldii and H. rostratus be 

 explained otherwise than by their sleeping under water ? Why, 

 of course, with just a small part of their heads above the sur- 

 face, — incapable, although passive, of being disturbed by wave- 

 motion, exceptions to the laws of hydrostatics, — they thus 

 enjoy perfect rest, and those men who for their livelihood depend 

 on their capture have seldom, if ever, been able to see them in 

 this position. 



As to the northern distribution of B. sibhaldii* I should like 

 to say a few words. It has already been shown that this whale 

 may be seen in water little above freezing-point ; that it is seen 

 in water under 32° Fahr. as frequently as in water of a warmer 

 temj^erature. It may be safely assumed, therefore, that — other 

 circumstances being favourable — Sibbald's Rorqual, insensible 

 or indifferent to a few degrees of warmth, may extend its migra- 

 tions as far to the northward as it is inclined ; like B. mijsticetus, 

 it is therefore essentially a " cold-water whale." While passing 

 over that part of the Spitzbergen Sea belonging to the North 

 Greenland whaling-ground, already defined, the number of these 

 whales seen daily reminded us that only a few weeks ago this 

 part of the sea was covered with ice, and that Balcena mysticetus 

 most probably occupied the ground. As in the early part of the 

 season, so now also, the water was found to contain an abundance 

 of Crustacea and Medusae, Calanus finmarckicus, as usual, being 

 by far the most abundant. The question naturally suggested 

 itself whether these minute forms of surface-life affording 

 support to the Greenland Right Whale constitute also the food 

 of these "tinners." It is certainly in accordance with the 

 economy of Nature to suppose that as the ice breaks up and 

 dissolves with the warmth of the summer sun, and Balcena 

 mysticetus is enabled to advance northwards to occupy pastures 

 new, some form of life will be provided to occupy the ground left 

 vacant. The bulk of the two animals being nearly the same,t 



■■' See A. H. Cocks on " The Fiiiwhale Fishery on the Coast of Fin- 

 luarken" (Zool. 1884, pp. 366, 417, 455). 



+ B. sibhaldii is admittedly the longer ; yet I venture to think what the 

 Eight "Whale loses by its length it almost gains by its great girth ; and that 

 the difference between the two in bulk is not so great as is generally 

 supposed. The correct girth of a large whale is very difficult to ascertain, 

 apart from the size of the animal, owing to the rapidity with which the body 



