44 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF 



and it is not until after the termination of the voyage, 

 when the cargo is un stowed, that a Greenland ship be- 

 comes disagreeable. Four tons of blubber, by weight, 

 generally afford three tons of oil* when boiled, which is 

 done in the port, on the arrival home of the vessel ; but 

 the blubber of a sucker, or cub, contains a very small pro- 

 portion. Whales have been caught that afforded nearly 

 thirty tons of pure oil, when the blubber was boiled, 

 and those yielding twenty tons of oil are by no means 

 uncommon. The quantity of oil yielded by a whale 

 generally bears a certain proportion to the length of its 

 longest blade of baleen or whalebone. The average 

 quantity is thus expressed by Captain Scoresby in the 

 following table : 



Although this statement averages very nearly the 

 truth, yet sometimes exceptions occur. A whale of 2£ 

 feet baleen has been known to produce nearly ten tons 

 of oil, and another of twelve feet of baleen only nine 

 tons. Such instances however are very uncommon. 



A stout whale, of sixty feet in length, is of the enor- 

 mous weight of about seventy tons ; the blubber weigh- 

 ing about thirty tons ; the bones of the head, baleen, 

 fins, and tail, about eight or ten ; and the carcase thirty 

 or thirty-two. 



The flesh of a young whale is of a red colour, and 

 when cleared of fat, broiled and seasoned with salt and 



* The ton or tun of oil is 252 gallons wine measure ; at a temperature 

 of 60° Fah. it weighs 1933 lbs. 12 oz. 14 dr. avoirdupois. 



