Till: NVHALE FISHERY. 165 



continuance ut' this ciislnm h-d us in report for the year lss| ;, i>iuisiiiii|il inn nf sperm nil in this cminlry nf 2, r >,S7. r i 

 barrels, and iu Kngland c>t'::,lllill Inns or :',0,OIMI barrels, an aggregate of 55,000 barn-Is, when actually the large sfncUs 

 in refiners' bauds a. year ago makes it probable that the actual consumption was not much in excess nl' Ki.niin barrels. 

 \\V give below a, carcfnlh made statement of the estimated actual consumption i'or 1H82: 



Barrels. 



Crude sperm nil in importers' Lands January 1, 1882 Hi, 275 



Crnde sperm oil in re liners' hands in United States and England 10,300 



Crude sperm oil imported into United States in 1882 29,875 



Crude sperm oil imported into England from the colonies, &c 3,850 



66,300 

 Less stock in importers' hands January 1, 1883 20,100 



Less stock in rentiers' hands in United States and importers' and refiners' hands in 

 England 6, 000 



26, 100 



Net eonsii nipt inn for the year 40,200 



Whale ml is rapidly absorbed as snon as it arrivesin market, and whalebone has been used during the past year 

 In a greater extent than heretofore. 



Sperm oil, from 9.3 cents at the commencement, nf the year, advanced steadily to $1.05 in February, si. 1(1 in April. 

 $1 11 in July, and then gradually receded, touching il(> cents at the close of the year. 



Whale nil, from 53 cents in .January, gradually advanced, touching .7.) eentsin September, and declining in Decent- 

 IM-I in ~~> cents. 



Whalebone opened the year at $1.40 and steadily advanced, touching :>.'. 25 in October, and closing I he \ear at frj. 



The ipiautity of sperm oil at present on board of the whaling fleet is 5,300 barrels, against 12.IWIO barrels a year 

 agn. being the smallest amount known in our experience. 



TRADE REVIEW FOR 1883. 



lieriew uf the u-liale-jidicry for 1883. The past year has been one of loss to those engaged in this business, and ils 

 results ha\e been discouraging. The failure of the Arctic season, wiih small catches in other localities, has bronuht. 

 lint small remuneration to those who risk their capital in the whale-fishery. 



The fleet now numbers one hundred and twenty MM- vessels of all .-lasses hailing from Atlantic ports, against one. 

 hundred and thirty-eight a year ago, and nineteen from San Francisco, as against eight last year. The number of 

 vessels engaged in sperm whaling has been considerably decreased, owing to the low prices of oil, while, on account 

 nf the value of whalebone, agents are inclined to send most of their vessels to the Arctic Ocean and other right-whale 

 regions. Indications point to a steady decrease in the number of vessels sailing from Atlantic .ports, and perhaps a 

 small increase in the number sailing from San Francisco for the Arctic Ocean. 



A new feature of the past year arising from the increase of Arctic, whaling a t San Francisco has been the. estab- 

 lishment of extensive works at that place for the manufacture and sale of whale and sperm oil, thus enabling the 

 owners there located, as well as others who import oils at that place, to find a market without paying the heavy cost 

 of shipping tin- same to the Atlantic seaboard. It is understood that the whole Arctic catch of oil, about 10,00i I barrels, 

 has been purchased at San Francisco at increased prices. Their works, in addition to large facilities for the manu- 

 t'act lire of sperm candles, have a capacity of 150 barrels of oil per day, and arc to be enlarged if the imports at I hat 

 place and the sales of their products shall warrant. 



Sperm whaling continues to decline, and no catches of any amount were made during the year except a few in the 

 Atlantic Ocean, and two or three ofl' Patagonia. The number of ships and barks now iu that fishery at sea is forty- 

 eight, most of which will folio wright whaling during half of the year. The con tinned low price of oil will soon prevent 

 the business being followed to any great extent. 



Right whaling has been unfortunate, and the season iu the North Pacific, owing to prevalence of ice and bad 

 weather, was a failure. Thirty-eight vessels cruised there, three of which were lost, aud the remaining thirty-live 

 averaged 274 barrels nf oil aud 4,350 pounds of whalebone to each. The southern right whalers were not as fort una te- 

 as iu the previous year, and their general success was moderate. 



The price of sperm oil from 96 cents per gallon on January 1 rose to $1.05 iu April and May, and from that time 

 steadily declined, closing the year at 90 cents. 



Whale oil from 55 ceuts in January continued at about the same price, with the exception of a rise to 594 (cuts 

 in April, until December, when on account of the demand at San Francisco it advanced, closing the year at 00 cents 

 per gallon asked. 



Whalebone opened the year at $2 per pound for Arctic, and with a few variations steadily advanced, until at tin- 

 close of the year it sold at $4.75 per pound. 



The purchases of sperm oil for consumption during the year have amounted to 32,200 barrels; the purchases of 

 whale oil to 23,600 barrels, and of whalebone, 376,000 pounds ; all the above being bought at Atlantic ports, besides 

 the purchases at San Francisco of all their importations, and quite an amount of oil aud bone belonging to New Bed- 

 ford vessels. 



Our figures of imports for 1883 do uot include the oil and bone purchased at Sau Francisco, it being difficult for 

 us, at this distance, to obtain the information with accuracy. 



