THE FINWHALE FISHERY OF 1886. 219 



RuDOLPHi's Rorqual. — Capt. Castberg's single example of 

 this species was a male 45 Norw. ft. long, killed on June 19th; 

 it was one of a school numbering about 20. 



Herr Andresen obtained (June 8) female 42 Norw. ft., female 

 50, male 40, male 42 ; (July 3) female 48, with foetus 2 ft. 1 in. 

 Nor.; female 44, female 48 (July 26). Average, (2) males, 41; 

 (5) females, 463 Norw. ft. On July 18, 1885, a female Rudolphi 

 was brought in to his factory at Tufjord (close S.W. of North 

 Cape) 45 Norw. ft. in length, in which were found two foetuses of 

 opposite sexes; the male measured 6 ft., and weighed 48 kilo- 

 grams ; the female measured 4 ft., and weighed 30 kilograms. 



Capt. H. EUevsen's ships reported seeing some Rudolphi's on 

 June 2nd, off Nordkyn. 



One of Capt. Selliken's whalers cruising about fifty English 

 miles north of Kongsfjord (the next Fjord to the westward of Sylte- 

 fjord) during splendid weather in April, the sea perfectly calm, fell 

 in with thousands of Seals (? sp.). If, as I believe to be the case, 

 this is well out of their usual track, it would perhaps be the result 

 of an unusual condition of the ice to the north, the edge being 

 reported very low down off these coasts this season. 



While staying in Syltefjord, I walked over from Capt. Selli- 

 ken's to Capt. Berg's factory on Aug. iSth, and as I approached 

 the first batch of Whale-krangs near the latter's I put up no less 

 than twenty Ravens in a flock from them. I do not recollect to 

 have previously seen quite so many together. All the factories 

 have an inclined plane from the ground to the upper part of the 

 boiling-house for the trolly to run up with the " blanket pieces " 

 of blubber. The angle formed by the last few feet at the bottom 

 is usually boarded in, to form a tool shed or sort of boatswain's 

 locker. A pair of White Wagtails {M. alba) had found out a 

 crevice at the top of one of these boards, and had built a nest 

 inside, in the dark, and immediately under the rumbling trolly. 

 The store of empty barrels was kept on the beach, enclosed by a 

 turf wall (forming exactly what would be called a "Tun" in 

 Iceland). In the interstice between some of the sods another pair 

 of Wagtails built a nest, but, as it was entirely exposed to the 

 rain, the cooper fixed half of a cask-head over it to form a roof, 

 which, I was told, the birds had much appreciated. The young 

 had flown from both nests at the time of my visit, but the nests 

 remained ; they were formed of very fine root-fibres and a little 



