126 ARCTIC ZOOLOGY. 



animal, with its abdominal contents, is suffered to sink, 

 which it instantly does to the bottom. 



When the tlinched pieces are hoisted on deck, they are 

 cut into squares, and tossed into the body of the vessel, 

 where they remain for a convenient opportunity of reducing 

 them to handbreadth slips, which is done by chopping 

 them, upon portions of the tail, with heavy knives ; and 

 this procedure, which is called " making off," is final for 

 the transmission of blubber to the English ports from the 

 different fishinc grounds. The reduced pieces are for that 

 purpose placed in large casks, and closely bunged up to 

 prevent the action of the air from producing the putrefac- 

 tive process. 



Durino- the foregoing operations, the utmost precau- 

 tions are observed that no portion of muscular flesh be 

 mixed Avith the cellular part, as the violent explosion of 

 the cask would be the consequence, when coming into 

 southern climates. Similar concern is also evinced that 

 the saw-dust of the pine, should not have admittance into 

 the casks containing the blubber, from an experience that 

 the casks in such case are more certainly burst by the 

 evolution of gases in an earlier stage of putrefaction than 

 even by the presence of the former. To prevent the first 

 from taking effect, the muscular parts, and skin, are care- 

 fully cut away in the " making off;" and the saw-dust is 



