98 



Their blast, according to Mr. Brown, is not unmusical, and, when 



under the water, they emit a peculiar whistling sound which might he 

 mistaken for the whistle of a bird, and on this account the seamen often 

 call them sea-canaries. 



The white whale is eagerly sought for by the natives of these inhos- 

 pitable climes, and many are captured by strong nets spread across the 

 entrance of inlets, or partially so, of the various sounds between the 

 numerous islands. 



The natives consider this whale as, next to the seal, the most valuable 

 animal in administering to their wants, for there is scarcely a single part 

 of the body which they do not convert to some beneficial purpose. 



The flesh in the fresh state afibrds savoury and nutritious food for 

 their immediate wants, and when dried, an ample store of supply for 

 the long and dreary winter ; the oil, although not abundant, is of the 

 best and finest quality, suitable for drinking, cooking, and burning ; 

 the finer portions of the internal membranes are used, instead of glass, 

 for glazing the windows, and the coarser for bed furniture ; the skin, 

 duly prepared, ofifers an excellent substitute for leather ; and the sinews 

 furnish strong thread and string for the purposes of sewing or fastening 

 their various utensUs. 



The whalers rarely kill the Beluga, because the swiftness, agility, 

 and resistance displayed by it, when struck, cause more trouble than 

 the yield of oil is worth. 



Although the Beluga migrates towards warmer waters during the 

 intense severity of the Arctic winter, only a few stray wanderers have, 

 as yet, been, seen so far to the south as the Prith of Forth. 



Dr. Q-ray considers the following, only as varieties of the B. catodon : — • 



Beluga rhinodon. Cope. Arctic Seas. 

 Beluga declivis. Cope. Artie Seas. 

 Beluga angustata. Cope. Arctic Seas. 

 Beluga Canadensis, Wyman. Canada. 



Beluga Kingii. The Australian Beluga. 



Synonyms — Delpliinus (JDelpUnapterus) , Gray, 1827. 



Beluga Kingii, Gray, S. & W., p. 309, Suppl. ; p. 95. 

 Teeth iV, small, hooked. 

 Inhab. Coasts of New Holland. 



The skull of this dolphin was presented, in 1826, forty-six years ago, 

 to the British Museum, by the late Admiral King, and up to the present 

 period no further discoveries of its existence have been made. It is, 

 therefore, quite sufficient to record that a peculiar whale, supposed to 

 belong to the genus Beluga, stiL. lives in our seas, and that the acqui- 

 sition of other examples would be desirable to confirm, or otherwise, its 

 generic character. 



