ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY P.l-LLETIN 



Si 



electrical outfit — battery, wire, and amimini- 

 tion — in a small i)acka,q:e, wcis^diiii!,'- hut a few 

 pounds. 



■■J-'(jr working from a boat in dec]) water 

 the cap can be made to sink by weighting, 

 and it may be made attractive to some fishes 

 by tying a bit of bait around it. or it may be 

 iiidden in a ball of sea-weed, lest it frighten 

 others. 



"The majority of fish killed in dcei) water 

 do not rise. Where the depth is sucli that a 

 bamboo pole with a small net cannot be 

 made to reach them, a sort of grapnel can be 

 made of a number of large-sized fisli-hooks, 

 tied at random to an irregularly shaped 

 sinker, in which, with a little patience, tiie\ 

 can be entangled and brought to the surface 

 For taking small fishes in shallow water this 

 device is much superior to dynamite. ll 

 avoids the slaughter of many hundreds nt 

 sjiecimens that are not desired for the col- 

 lection, and does not roil the water. Rlanv 

 valuable si)ecimcns are lost by sinking when 

 killed, and being either carried away by the 

 tide or drifted into some inaccessil)le crevice. 

 or by being completely buried by the fine 

 sand and nuid stirred up by an explosion. 



"Again, among coral reefs the struggle 

 for existence is at its highest pitch, and 

 rarely can a fish lie in the water many mo- 

 ments without being eaten. One of the 

 rarest captures was found less than ten min- 

 utes after an explosion in the possession of 

 a large rock-crab, who was gravely holding 

 it in his left claw, pulling its tail off and stuff- 

 ing it into his mouth with his right. 



"The student of marine life in tropical wa- 

 ters who adds to his outfit a small electric 

 fishing device is assured of new experiences 

 and rare s])ecimens." 



THE BP:LUGA or WHriE \\H.AI.K. 



(Di'li^liiiiaf'U'nis Iciiiiis. ) 



Visitors to the Aquarium fri'(|ucntly inciuire about 

 the "White Whales" that were once an atlractiou of 

 tlie place for a short time. 



The photograph presented here shows the appear- 

 ance of the animals so well that it seems desirable 

 to give some account of them. 



Two specimens that were procun-d mi tlic Rivii'ri- 

 du Loupe. Canada, were placed in tlie larije cenltr 

 pool at the .-Xquariinn June 5, 1897. 



The larger of them, a female, alioiu ten feet in 

 length, was injured in transportation and lived luit 

 five days. 



The smaller one. a male, nine feet long, was losing 



its epidermis wlun received at the .\(|uarinm. and 

 soon alter its arrival large fragments of its outer 

 skin were found in the water. In a brief time the 

 skin-shedding process was complete, and the whale 

 was much lighter in color than before. This speci- 

 men was fed with live eels, and spent most of the 

 time chasing and catching them. It swam round the 

 pool always in the same direction, never turning 

 liackward. This is said to be its habit in captivity, 

 and has been observed before. 



WHIll W IIAI KS— Kl\ IKKI'. lit; l.illl'K. i,H KIlKl. . 



The Aquarium specimens were captured in the 

 usual way in one of the white whale fisheries of 

 Canada. A place is chosen where at low tide the 

 liottom is bare, or nearly so. Long poles are driven 

 into the sand, a short distance apart, enclosing a 

 considerable area, except at a point where the water 

 is deep, and the Beluga enter the trap in pursuit of 

 herring. The fishermen with their boats follow up 

 the^school, and by their presence keep them from 

 returning. It is said that the Beluga makes no 

 attempt to pass the sliglit barrier of poles. When 

 the tide flows out the whales are groiiiulcd and are 

 readily killed. 



The two brought to the .\quarium were placed in 

 large, strong boxes, the bottoms of which were cov- 

 ered with seaweed several inches deep, making a 

 fairly soft bed. They were accompanied by an at- 

 tendant, who, with a sponge, constantly kept the 

 "blow-hole" on top of the head well moistened. The 

 specimen that lived for several weeks in the .\qua- 

 rium died from strangulation, a partly digested eel 

 having in some way gotten into the air passage and 

 which the whale could not eject. 



The first day after these whales arrived at the 

 Aquarium the attendance was 2l,coo and for two or 

 ibrec following days about 15.OCO a day. 



The illustration shows white whales after being 

 stranded and killed. 



