was not known what became of the skin. Latterly a chamois-hunter of the Grisons declares that last autumn (1877) in the course of one of his many expeditions he saw two white chamois, so that the appearance of that variety is not an occurrence absolutely extraordinary, but except in the case of the one on the Sandalp, it would seem that it is only this one district of the Canton of the Grisons which has the peculiar favour of possessing this rarity. Happily for these interesting animals, this mountain district is strictly preserved. It is probable that the white chamois are always albinos, and consequently constitute an anomaly rather than a species. Nevertheless this question does not appear to be absolutely decided, as it has been in case of hares, for iustance. The hare of the plains are sometimes found under the form of the white variety, says Tschudi, but it must not be confounded with that of the white variety of the Alps, because it had the eye rose-coloured like all albinos, and remains white all the year round. The white hare of the Alps, on the contrary, is generally found at an altitude of from 5000 feet to 8000 feet, and is white only in winter, for the colour of its fur only changes with the first severe cold. The points of the ear are the only parts of the skin the fur of which remains dark-coloured, and its eyes, far from being red, are even darker than those of the common hare. In summer the fur is grey with an olive tint mixed with black. The fur on the stomach only remains white, as also does a part of the ear.
Porpoise-Hunting in Norway in Olden Times. — The contemplated activity of the ancient porpoise-hunting guild at Middelfart, in the island of Fiihuen, the oldest corporation of this kind in Norway, has led to an interesting correspondence in the ' German Fishery Gazette,' from which it appears that the inhabitants of Middelfart have carried on the sea-hog or porpoise-hunting as far back as the thirteenth century. This is clearly ascertained from old documents of the sixteenth century, indicating that the fishermans' guild of Middelfart had been prosecuting this porpoise- catching for some centuries back. The first statutes of the guild bear the date of the year 1559, being confirmed the same year by a royal decree granting to the inhabitants of Middelfart the exclusive right of porpoise- hunting in the Little Belt. This privilege had to be renewed whenever a new ruler ascended the throne, the fishery being carried on uninterruptedly till more recent times, except during the period of the Anglo-Danish war, when fishing ceased altogether. A reconstruction of the statutes was effected in 1854, receiving the royal assent in the following year, but the hunt, has never since succeeded in reaching the same standard of prosperity it enjoyed in former times. The hunt always commenced on the 11th November, and lasted till the 2nd February, all the members of the guild being under the obligation to take part, and disqualified from engaging in
