26781
APPENDICES.
57
APPENDIX VI.
PRELIMINARY MEMORANDUM ON THE PAPERS LEFT BY THE LATE MAJOR BARRETT-HAMILTON, RELATING TO THE WHALES OF SOUTH GEORGIA.
On 25th April last I had the honour of being appointed to examine and report upon the papers left by the late Major G. E. H. Barrett-Hamilton, relating to the inquiries which he made, on behalf of the Colonial Office and the Trustees of the British Museum, concerning the whale fishery of South Georgia during the season 1913-1914. The work entailed has been a good deal heavier than I antici- pated, but I have now arranged in tabular form all the scientific data which Major Barrett-Hamilton collected, and am in a position to submit this preliminary memorandum in which the pith of his work, so far as it relates to matters of prac tical and urgent importance, is embodied. The comparison of these data with those obtained by other observers at other whaling stations will require a good deal of further work, but I hope to be able to submit my complete report in the course of the next few weeks.
On his arrival in South Georgia, Major Barrett-Hamilton proceeded to Leith Harbour, where he measured his first whale on 15th November, 1913, and where he resided and continued to work until 17th January, 1914, when his labours termin- ated in death. During his stay he devoted practically the whole of his time to the accumulation of statistics concerning the size, relative proportions, sexes, and zoo- logical characters of the whales landed at Leith Harbour. He devoted special care to the study of the female organs of generation and lactation and of their fœtuses, with a view to acquiring information upon the little known breeding habits of the whales a matter of which accurate knowledge is of vital importance if the whaling industry is to continue on modern lines without resulting in what appears at present to be the inevitable and speedy extinction of all the larger Cetacea.
Between 14th November, 1918 and 16th January, 1914, Major Barrett- Hamilton examined and measured 294 whales belonging to four species as follows:
Genus Balanoptera.
B. sp.
B. sp.
Genus Megaptera.
M. BP.
Genus Physeter.
Finners
Blue whales
Humpbacks
184
50
57
3
294
།།། །། །
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
FICO. 885
23 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
P. macrocephalus Sperm whales
Total
It is not possible to determine precisely what the South Georgian species of Balanoptera and Megaptera are or what relation they bear to their representatives in northern seas. Apart from their scientific interest these systematic questions are of great practical importance. Major Barrett-Hamilton has left a most valu- able collection of facts which, if coupled with the results of the further observations at South Georgia which he had in view, should enable one to form a sound judgment on these matters later on. No really satisfactory conclusion can be arrived at, how- ever, until the whales of one of the African stations have been similarly investi- gated, and until further material has been acquired for the national collection.
The particulars for each species summarized here are:--
(1) Numbers captured and the proportions of the sexes.
(2) Dates of capture in relation to the numbers caught and their sex.
(S) Average lengths of all specimens:
Average lengths of all males, and of all females:
Maximum and minimum lengths of the sexually immature of each sex-
Average maximum and minimum lengths of the adults of each sex.
(4) Statistics relating to the female genitalia.
(5) Statistics relating to the organs of lactation.
(6) Lengths and dates of the fœtuses.
58
APPENDICES.