478 HISTORY AND METHODS OP THE FISHERIES. 



worked up by New Bedford and New London whaling steamers and sailing-vessels. Crews and 

 labor are plentiful and cheap. Seals are generally found from 10 to 20 miles off the land, ranging 

 from Cape Bonavista to Labrador." 



3. THE PEODUCTS. 



USE OF OIL, FLESH, AND SKINS. The chief value of seals is their oil, so well known for its 

 valuable properties for illuminating purposes and for the lubrication of machinery. " The amount 

 annually obtained falls not far short of 90,000 tuns, with a total value of $1,250,000. Next in 

 importance are the, skins, which are nearly as valuable as the oil. From very early times they 

 were used for covering trunks, the manufacture of knapsacks, and for many of the uses of ordinary 

 leather. They have been extensively employed, as indeed they are still, for the manufacture of 

 caps, gloves, shoes, and jackets. Of late many have been converted in England into lacquered 

 leather, which is said to be of a superior quality, being beautiful and shining, and of firm text- 

 ure, and can be furnished at moderate cost. The skins differ in value according to size and color, 

 these varying, of course, with the species and with the age of the animal. 



"As an article of food seals are of the utmost importance to the natives of Greenland and the 

 northern tribes generally, they deriving from them the greater part of their subsistence. They 

 have been found likewise not unpalatable by our Arctic voyagers, whose sustenance often for 

 long periods has been mainly the flesh of these animals. The Eskimo and allied tribes of the 

 north are well known to depend upon the seals, not only for their food, but for most of the materials 

 for their boats and sledges, as well as for clothing and the various implements of the chase."* 



In respect to the character of seal flesh as food, and the importance of these animals to the 

 Eskimos, Dr. A. Homer, surgeon to the Pandora, thus refers to the general subject : 



" From the length of time these people have inhabited this cold country, one naturally expects 

 them to have found some particular food well adapted by its nutritious and heat-giving properties 

 to supply all the wants of such a rigorous climate, and such is found to be the case, for there is no 

 food more delicious to the tastes of the Eskimo than the flesh of the seal, and especially that of 

 the common seal (Phoca vitulina). But it is not only the human inhabitants who find it has such 

 excellent qualities, but all the larger carnlvora that are able to prey on them. Seal's meat is so 

 unlike the flesh to which we Europeans are accustomed, that it is not surprising we should have 

 some difficulty at first in making up our minds to taste it ; but when once that difficulty is over- 

 come every one praises its flavor, tenderness, digestibility, juiciness, and decidedly warming 

 after-eflects. Its color is almost black, from the large amount of venous blood it contains, except 

 in very young seals, and is, therefore, very singular looking and not inviting, while its flavor is 

 unlike anything else, and cannot be described except by saying delicious. To suit European 

 palates there are certain precautions to be taken before it is cooked. It has to be cut in thin 

 slices, carefully removing any fat or blubber, and then soaked in salt water for from twelve to 

 twenty-four hours, to remove the blood, which gives it a slightly fishy flavor. The blubber has 

 such a strong taste that it requires an Arctic winter's appetite to find out how good it is. That 

 of the bearded seal (Phoca barbata) is most relished by epicures. The daintiest morsel of a seal 

 is the liver, which requires no soaking, but may be eaten as soon as the animal is killed. Tue 

 heart is good eating, while the sweetbread and kidneys are not to be despised. 



"The usual mode of cooking seal's meat is to stew it with a few pieces of fat bacon, when an 

 excellent rich gravy is formed, or it maybe fried with a few pieces of pork, or ' white-man,' 

 being cut up with the seal, or ' black man.' 



* ALLEN : Op. cit. 



