THE SEAL AN'D WHALE FISHERY OF 1892. 87 



of the ' Chieftain ' were rescued and brought home by the 

 ' Diana ' and ' Balsena," and thus loss of life was not added to the 

 other misfortunes. 



The question which naturally suggests itself is — What is the 

 reason of this want of success ? My friend, Dr. Robert Gray, 

 attributes it to the comparative scarcity of whales in the Green- 

 land seas ; not that they are extinct, but they have become so 

 few as to render their pursuit unrernunerative, a condition long 

 predicted. There may be many whales in the Greenland sea 



n now, but the sea is of vast extent, and the circumstances 



ndiog the search for t'uem are so arduous that it is probable 

 tew, even of those which may come within range of the ship, 

 will be perceived, owing to atmospheric conditions, or the un- 

 favourable state of the ice. Added to all this, the eagerness with 

 which they are hunted, and the disturbing influence of steam, 

 have made the whales so timid that they are extremely difficult to 

 approach, and even when found they escape much more fre- 

 quently than formerly. There is thus reason to hope that the 

 numbers of these grand animals may not be so reduced as to en- 

 danger their final extinction. 



e produce of the Whale Fishery of the past season was 10 



tales, 1309 White Whales, and 67 Walrus ; the 'Alert' also 

 brought home on freight one whale and 8613 seals, collected 

 at the several fishing stations in Cumberland Gulf. These 

 yielded 298 tons of whale-oil (about 1*0 tons of which was 

 W hite Wnale oil), and 5 tons 14 cwt. of bone, which valued at, 

 £22 per ton for whale-oil and £2300 per ton for bone (of all 

 sent a sum of about £19,666, against £26, 000 in the 

 previous season. 



A very interesting feature in the Whale Fishery has been the 

 capture by the Norwegian vessels of several individuals of the rare 

 Baltena biscayensis to the south of Iceland, in the years 1889-91. 

 r this species has been occasionally met with by the 

 American whalers in the same locality, before going into Cumber- 

 land Gulf, but it is difficult to obtain accurate information. On 

 asking Prof. Collett for particulars, he very kindly informed me 

 that in 1889 one specimen was caught; in 1890, six (the skull of 

 one of which is now in the Christiana Museum) ; in 1891 ten were 

 secured; and during the past season (1*92) the search for them 

 proved unsuccessful, although several whalers were on the look- 



