iJ08 WHALE-FISHERY. 



provided with an appropriate furnace, and covered 

 with a tiled or slated shed. Some of these coppers 

 have a sudden depression in the bottom, into which 

 the refuse of the blubber subsides when it is suffi- 

 ciently boiled ; and at the elevation of a foot or 18 

 inches above the bottom, (higher than the cavity 

 usually occupied by the refuse,) is a grating -and 

 conducting pipe, through which, on turning a stop- 

 cock, the greater part of the oil in the copper is 

 conveyed into an adjoining cooler. 



2. On the same, or on a little lower level than 

 that of the copper, is fixed a square or oblong back 

 or cooler, built generally of wood, but sometimes 

 of brick or stone, lined with lead or cement, capable 

 of containing from 10 to 20 tons of oil or upwards. 

 Adjoining to this is anx)ther back, sometimes a third, 

 and occasionally a fourth or a fifth, each placed a 

 little lower than the one preceding it, so that the 

 lowest shall stand with its base about two or three 

 feet above the level of the ground. In some very 

 modern works, the coolers are all fixed at the same 

 elevation. Each of the backs is provided with one 

 or more stop-cocks on the most accessible side, for 

 convenience in (hawing the oil off into casks. 



3. Altogether above the level of the copper, and 

 immediately adjoining it, on the side directed towards 

 the river or canal, an oblong wooden cistern, called 

 the " starting-back," is usually erected, for contain- 

 ing blubber, which ought to be a vessel of equal or 



