40
out, assigned to it, the vague designations of seamen, such as“ whales,” “ bottlenoses,” “ porpoises,” &c., being avoided. If in“ schools,” the number of individuals, as nearly as they can beestimated, the direction in which they are swimming, the cha-racter of the “blowing,” the average duration of the intervalsbetween each expiration, &c., will also be subjects for observation.
If any animal is actually captured, or found dead, abundantopportunity for observation will be afforded, as our knowledge ofmost of the species is derived chiefly from skeletons, badlw pre-served portions of the soft parts, and imperfect descriptions oftheir external form. Good drawings, made to scale and accuratelycoloured, of the external appearance of nearly all the species arestill desiderata. Careful measurements, devoid of the (often un-conscious) exaggeration which vitiates so many of those alreadygiven by voyagers, are also required, especially of the largerspecies. The extreme length should always be given, if jjossible,in a straight line from the tip of the nose to the notch betweenthe flukes of the tail, as measurements following the curves of thebody give a very erroneous idea of the actual size. Any parasiteswhich may be found attached to the external surface or containedwithin the animal should be carefully described, and, if practicable,preserved.* The contents of the stomach should always be noted,with a view to ascertain the natural food of the animal.
Collecting will probably be limited to smaller or rarer specimens,as it will not be possible to occupy valuable space by such bulkyobjects as are the skeletons of most of the Northern Cetaceans.If, however, whole skeletons cannot be preserved, certain portionsof them might be removed and brought home without difficulty,especially the pelvic bones and rudiments of the hinder extremity,which are nearly always wanting in the skeletons in museums;next to these, the skull, the cervical vertebrae, the hyoid bones,the sternum, and the fore limb or paddles are the most charac-teristic parts. Brains of any of the larger species are muchwanted, if they can be obtained in a tolerably fresh condition andcarefully preserved in spirit. If any foetuses are met with indissecting, they should, if possible, be preserved entire, with theuterus and membranes, in spirit or strong brine.
List of Cetacea of the North Atlantic.
I. —Whalebone Whales . ( Mystacoceti .) — Easily recognisedby the baleen or “ whalebone ” with which the palate is fur-nished, and by the double openings of the blow-holes on the topof the head.
Genus Baleena. The one species inhabiting the Arctic regionsis B. mysticetus, Linn., the Greenland Right-Whale , distin-guished from the other Whalebone Whales of the same seas bythe very large size of the head (one-third, or even more, of theentire length), by the great length of the baleen, the absence oflongitudinal furrows in the skin of the throat, and the absence of
* On this subject see Van Beneden, “Les Cetaces, leur Commensaux etleur Parasites,” Bull. de l’Acad. rovale de Belgique, 2 me serie, tome XXIX.,No. 4, p. 347, 1870.