THE FINWHALE FISHERY OF 1886. 213 



head (apparently penetrating to the brain). It towed the ship 

 straight towards land, and the crew were in imminent danger of 

 being shipwrecked on the rocks. Presently it reared its head 

 right out of the water, and nearly toppled over on deck. Despite 

 all their efforts the crew could not succeed in killing it, and at 

 last they lashed it head and tail alongside and proposed to tow it 

 ashore, still alive ; but it broke the lashings, and was only finally 

 secured after a great amount of trouble. A fcetus found on July 

 .28th measured ITg- Norw. in.; flipper, 4f. 



Herr Andresen obtained : Males, 35, 42, 39, between July 

 7 and 29, and no females. Average : (3) males, 38|- Norw. ft. 



On August 25th I saw the ' Varanger ' with one alongside, 

 not much more than 20 ft ; it was black-bellied. The great 

 apparent excess of males over females of this species has struck 

 me since I first visited the Whale-factories ; this season, out of 

 37 of which the sex is recorded, 28, or over two -thirds, were males. 

 This is evidently not to be accounted for by supposing that male 

 animals are selected where there is a choice, on account of greater 

 size, for the exact contrarj^ is the case. The average for all the 

 males whose length is given above is under 35^ Eng. ft., while 

 that of the females is just over 40^ Eng. ft.* 



Herr Wiborg informs me of a Humpback seen this season, 

 accompanied by two calves, each about 10 Norw. ft. long. " This 

 Whale was very shy, so that, so far as I am aware, it was not 

 captured. Several whalers state that they have seen what was 

 probably the same Whale. It was seen off Vardo, about six (sea) 

 miles (== 24 English land miles) from land." 



Blue Whale. — Capt. Horn obtained some extremely large 

 Whales. Males: May 25, 80 Eng. ft.; June, 80 Eng. ft.; July, 

 76, 81, 68, 84, 77, 81, 72, 78, 75, 80, 63, 76, 83; Aug., 80, 72, 85. 

 Females: June, 80, 81 (containing foetus 5 ft. 7 in. long); 

 July, 87 (accompanied by young one between 50 and 60 ft. 

 long), 80 (containing foetus 15 ft. 6 in. long), 71; Aug., two 

 of 77 ft. Total (18) males, average, 78^8 Eng. ft. ; (7) females, 

 average, 79 Eng. ft. The Blue Whales taken by Capt. Horn 

 in 1885 were: June (1st), 68 Norw. ft.; (6th) female, 72; 

 July, 67, 77; female, 81; Aug., 83, 71; female, 82 (with milk 

 running) ; male, 75 ; female, 81 (Aug. 9). Average length 

 (irrespective of sex) of 10 = 75-rV Norw. ft. 



* Eeckoning 1 ft. 0| in. English, to the Norwegian foot. 



