Page:The Zoologist, 3rd series, vol 2 (1878).djvu/294

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THE ZOOLOGIST

inhabiting the plains, that the author actually saw Wildebeests and other antelopes making their way blindly into the middle of the town (Bloem Fontaine) in search of shelter, where they were easily captured. "After the storm ceased they were found dying in all directions, and the plains were covered with their carcasses. In the course of an afternoon's ride, he counted as many as seventy dead antelopes of various species, and was informed that Ostriches also were found amongst the slain. A knowing settler turned the circumstance to good account by stripping off the hides as they lay, and sending them in bales to Cape Town for sale."

Want of space precludes our quoting further from Capt. Lucas's readable book. What he has given us, if not very new, is at all events pleasantly written, and he has wisely avoided the too- common practice of spinning out his material. So agreeably does he detail his experiences that the reader, on reaching the last page, must almost regret that the author has not more to say.


The White Whale. By Henry Lee, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c. 8vo, pp.16.London: Burt & Co. 1878.

It was only to be expected that the hundreds who had flocked of late to the Westminster Aquarium, to see the live whale there exhibited, wotdd be glad to be furnished with some account of this remarkable animal; and Mr. Henry Lee's pamphlet, which has just appeared under the above heading, will supply a want which must have been generally experienced. We have heard much disappointment expressed at the size of the Westminster captive, many having expected, it seems, to have found on their arrival at the Aquarium nothing smaller than a Greenland Whale of at least fifty or sixty feet in length. To such persons we may recommend the perusal of Mr. Lee's brochure, with the expression of a hope that the extremely interesting history which attaches to the Beluga or White Whale may in some degree compensate for their disappointment.

The "Beluga," Delphinapterus leucas (Pallas), or as Mr. Lee terms it Beluga catodon, can scarcely be said to belong to the British fauna, only three instances being on record of its appearance on our coasts. Information gathered from trustworthy sources leads to the belief that the annual migrations of the Beluga are so