
334 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 
any whales at close quarters, particularly a small species known as the 
** blacktish," which often played around the vessel all day, sometimes not 
ten feet from her hull. I observed that while no water, or only a very 
minute quantity, was ejected when the **blow-hole" was out of water, still 
able odor. On mentioning this to the captain, an old whaler, he informed 
me that the vapor ejected by the sperm whale was so fetid as to nauseate 
any one immediately who was unused to it; that he had been so affected 
himself when he first went a whaling, and also that the mucus sometimes 
thrown out when “blowing,” is com Pads ‘epg by whalers to raise à 
blister, if it comes in contact with the n. Cannot some of our New 
Bedford friends add to our information on aii subjects ?— W. H. DALL 
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‘blow? in a double stream, which is directed backwards, towards the tail.” 
— À. §. P. 
MorrLED OWL aGary.—I noticed in the September number (vol. 
ii) of the NATURALIST a communication from Dr. Wood, concerning the 
Gray Owls are different birds, and in the e August number a note from Mr. 
Allen, who evidently considers them one and the same bird, subject, how- 
ever, to variations of plumage. The latter conclusion is, I am convince ed, 
the true one, but as the matter does not seem to be quite cleared up, I 
would like to send you a few observations of my own that may serve t 
throw some light on the subject 
u the 30th of ve es I found a nest of the Mottled Owl, in an apple 
tree, at Concord, , containing four young birds (apparently about 
two weeks old) i Miei mother. Although but few feathers had begun 
to appear on the young their coloring was nevertheless dy apparent; 
two were red, the remaining two gray; the mother was red. Selecting à 
red and gray owl from the youn ng brood I replaced the others in ges nest, 
and started for home with my prize. For the next two or three weeks 
grew apace, feeding greedily upon meat of all kinds, giving, how- 
ever, a decided preference for small birds, which they soon learned to tear 
i wp fo or F themselves. While I was absent in August, the person to vm 

