224 WHALE-FISHERY. 



passes to the harpooners. Each of these officers, 

 provided with a blubber-knife, or a strand knife, 

 places himself by the side of a u closh," which 

 is an upright fixed in the deck, from the top 

 whereof, project several sharp spikes. An attend- 

 ant, by means of a pair of " hand hooks," or a 

 " pick haak," then mounts a piece of blubber upon 

 the spikes of the closh, and the harpooner slices off 

 the skin. From the skinners, the blubber is passed 

 into an open space called the bank, prepared as a de- 

 positary, in front of the speck-trough and it is then 

 laid upon the *» chopping blocks," as wanted. It 

 now r falls under the hands of the boat steerers, who 

 armed with " chopping knives," are arranged in a 

 line by the side of the chopping-bloeks, with the 

 speck-trough before them. Thus prepared, they 

 divide the blubber, as it is placed on their blocks, 

 into oblong pieces, not exceeding four inches in 

 diameter, and push it into the speck-trough intend- 

 ed for its reception, And, finally, the blubber falls 

 under the direction of the line managers stationed 

 in the hold, who receive it into tubs, through the 

 medium of the lull; and pa r 5 s it, without any instru- 

 ment but their hands, into the casks through their 

 bung-holes. The casks being closely filled, are then 

 securely bunged up. 



When the ground tier casks, as far as they have 

 been exposed, are filled, the second tier of casks is 

 " stowed" upon it, and likewise filled with blubber, 

 together with the third tier casks when necessarv. 

 As in this progressive manner, when fish can be 



