VOYAGE OF THE ' ECLIPSE.' 



133 



Appendix. 



Some particulars relating to the capture, size, &c., of the seven 

 Greenland Eight "Whales captured by the s.s. ' Eclipse ' in 

 1886 :— 



After the vessel's arrival in port it was found that these 

 seven whales yielded 36 tons of oil (252 gallons per ton), and 

 36 cwts. of whalebone. By the following table it will be seen 

 how unfavourably this result compares with those of the two 

 preceding seasons, 1884 and 1885 : — 



The question naturally arises whether the 1886 whales are 

 to be regarded as exceptionally small, or those of 1884 and 1885 

 as exceptionally large. By way of an answer it may not be out 

 of place here to state that Capt. D. Gray has ascertained from 

 the comparison of some two hundred individuals captured under 

 his supervision in the Greenland Seas and in Davis Straits 

 during the last forty years, that the measurements, &c., of an 

 average full-grown male Greenland Eight Whale are as follows: — 



Of the entii'e body — 



Length, measured between perpendiculars raised 

 from the tip of the lower jaw and the centre of 

 a line joining the tips of the caudal fin ... 61 ft. 



