Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 4 (1900).djvu/95

Rh ceedings of the United States National Museum' (xxi. pp. 617–635) an exhaustive paper on the nomenclature of the Whalebone Whales of the European waters, treated with his usual thoroughness; and, whether or not European cetologists finally accept the somewhat startling changes he advocates, they cannot but be grateful for the analysis of the evidence on which he bases his conclusions. It is rather out of place in this paper to discuss the much-vexed question of the revision of nomenclature, but the well-defined and not too numerous group of Cetacea seems readily to lend itself for treatment in this respect, and surely by a little forbearance and the sacrifice of some degree of sentiment, cetologists might be able to arrive at an arrangement by which this section at least of the Mammalia might be cleared of the nomenclatorial fog which surrounds it, and be settled once for all on a firm and universal basis.

The Whale fishery in the past season has on the whole been fairly successful, but its most remarkable feature has been the continued apparent absence of Right Whales in the Greenland Seas, whereas in Davis Strait and in the adjoining waters they have been seen in abundance. The 'Balæna' cruised for three months in the Greenland waters, during which time she saw only one Whale; this she captured on the 19th of May, on the north-west fishing-grounds. It is difficult to account for this absence of Whales from their former resorts, but it is doubtless due in part to overfishing, and perhaps even more to the present unsuitable condition of their feeding grounds owing to the continued absence of ice, a state of things which has continued for a most unusual length of time, and is quite contrary to precedent (see Zool. 1898, p. 73). In Davis Strait, on the other hand, Whales were in plenty in all their usual resorts, but from the many "escapes" it is probable they were very shy. There appears also to be a fair proportion of old and young fish, which promises well for the continuance of the species. The 'Diana' killed a mother and sucker in Lancaster Sound, early in July; also two other small Whales in the same locality. The 'Eclipse' also killed a very small Whale of four-foot bone, in Pond's Bay, where young fish are rarely met with. In the same locality the 'Diana' met with a fighting fish which gave them some trouble; but although it attacked several of the boats, it was eventually