41.1 WHAT.r-riSHKllY- 



about the years 1715 to 1721, when the price was 

 400 /. * About the year 1763, the price in Eng- 

 land was 500 /. per ton ; but, after an extensive 

 importation of this article from New England, the 

 price declined to 350 /. f and subsequently as low 

 as 50 /. per ton. Of late years, the price has usual- 

 ly been fluctuating between 50 /. and 150 /. pter 

 ton. \^^halebone becomes more valuable as it in- 

 creases in lengtli and thickness. 



On or near the premisses where the oil is extract- 

 ed, the whalebone is commonly cleaned and pre- 

 pared. 



The first operation, if not already done, consists 

 in depriving it of the gum. It is then put into a 

 cistern containing water, until the dirt upon its 

 surface becomes soft. When this effect is suffi- 

 ciently produced, it is taken out, piece by piece, 

 laid on a plank placed on the ground, where 

 the operator stands, and scrubbed or scoured with 

 sand and water, by means of a broom or a piece of 

 cloth. It is then passed to another person, who, 

 on a plank or bench, elevated to a convenient 

 height, scrapes the root-end where the gum was at- 

 tached, until he produces a smooth surface ; he or 

 another workman, then applies a knife or a pair of 



* Elking's View of the Greenland Trade, &c. p. 65. 

 t Macpherson's Annals, vol. iii. p. 37 !• 



