670 ON THE WHALEBONE WHALES. 



Of tlie Finback Whales a considerable number must stay in our 

 home waters also between successive summer seasons, following 

 and feeding upon the shoals of caplin and herrings at various 

 localities and times of the year. But their numbers are not so 

 great as to account for the large schools which migrate to southei-n 

 latitudes. In the Mediterranean considerable numbers of Fin- 

 back Whales are seen, but further information from this locality 

 is lacking. 



In addition to what has been mentioned above with regard to 

 the Humpback Whales, nothing is known about the migratory 

 route of those which visit the waters ofi" Newfoundland and 

 northwards. It would be of interest to know if they follow 

 the caplin in these localities, like the Humpbacks in the Barents 

 Sea. 



In the month of May, Humpbacks are found oif the Azores, 

 Bermuda Islands, and occasionally the Antilles. In 1899 parts 

 of an Ameincan bomb-lance were found in a Humpback on the 

 Finmark coast. 



The part played by the Gulf -Stream in the biology of Whales 

 in the North Atlantic is paralleled by the influence exerted by the 

 Antai'ctic current or great West Wind Drift in the South Sea. 

 The localities which have shown themselves to be rich whaling- 

 grounds, such as the coast of Chili, South Georgia, and the southern 

 coast of West Africa, are mider the influence of this current. 

 By the intermingling of the cold waters from this current with 

 watei's fi'om the adjacent warmer currents, conditions must be 

 created favourable for the production of the masses of plankton 

 which are sometimes seen in these localities. What part the 

 Humboldt current along the westei-n coast of South America and 

 the Benguela current along the western coast of South Africa 

 play as migratory routes and as feeding grounds during several 

 months of the year for those species of Whales which at the 

 present time are of the greatest commercial importance among 

 the Cetacea, must be left to future investigations to disclose. 



The geographical positions of the various whaling grounds in 

 the Southern Hemisphere should oflTer special opportunities for 

 observations upon the migrations, breeding-season, food, and other 

 questions of biological and economical interest relating to these 

 Whales. 



