ccxxvi GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND 



on the 1st of January, 1875. The number of vessels at sea, 

 January, 1876, is 137, to 119 in the beginning of 1875, show- 

 ing, therefore, an addition to the fleet actually on the water 

 of IS vessels. 



The average catch of the Risrht whale fleet amounted to 

 1384 barrels of oil, and 14,900 pounds of whalebone, being 

 the largest catch for any year since 1850. 



Sperm - whaling has been but moderately successful, the 

 average catch being 333 barrels in the Indian Ocean, and 

 223 barrels in the North and South Atlantic. The consti- 

 tution of the whaling fleet for 1876 is given as 77 vessels 

 in the North and South Atlantic, 15 in the Indian Ocean 

 and New Holland, 13 in New Zealand, 23 in the Pacific and 

 Off Shore ground, 18 in the North Pacific, and 4 at Cumber- 

 land Inlet. The total receipt of oil in the United States in 

 1875 was 42,617 bbls. of sperm-oil, and 34,594 bbls. of whale- 

 oil, with 372,302 lbs. of whalebone. 



The average price of sperm-oil for 1875 was $1 60 J per gal- 

 lon ; of whale, 65^ cents; and of bone, $1 12 J per pound. Of 

 the fleet employed in the whale-fishery, by far the greater num- 

 ber of vessels came from the district of New Bedford, in- 

 cluding New Bedford, Fair Haven, Dartmouth, Marion, and 

 Westport, the aggregate being 125 vessels out of 169, just 

 referred to. 



The Newfoundland seal-fishery, which early in the season 

 threatened to be almost a failure, improved somewhat later, 

 and the average catch was perhaps equal to that of 1874. 

 The great decrease of the catch in 1874 as compared with 1873 

 was a subject of much solicitude to the Newfoundland govern- 

 ment, the same condition applying to the Greenland seal-fish- 

 eries also, and the enactment of some international measures 

 has been very strongly urged for the protection of this inter- 

 est. One cause of the rapid diminution appears to be due 

 to the early date at which the pursuit is commenced, the 

 mothers being killed by the sailors before the young are old 

 enough to shift for themselves. As the two principal nations 

 interested in this trade are Great Britain and Norway, nego- 

 tiations have been in progress between them to fix upon a date 

 before which it shall be unlawful to prosecute the business, 

 the opening day proposed by Great Britain being the 5th 

 to the 8th of April, while Norway insists upon the 1st of 



