A(iUATIC I'KODUCTS IN ARTS AND INDUSTKIES. 189 



-whales in Hum). 'riu> yiold of oil ap[)r<».\imated i',S7<) l)an('l,s, and of 

 whalebone l(>o,lo() pounds. Five barks were employed in sperm- 

 whaling off the coast of Japan, takini>: 4,100 barrels of oil. The mar- 

 ket for sperm oil in lOOl ojiened at 55 cents per gallon, l)ut gradually 

 increased and closed the year at about 08 cents pei- gallon. The 

 pi-ice (tf whale oil at San Francisco was 32 to ;>S cents and in the 

 Eastern markets 38 cents per gallon. 



In 1902 the whaling fleet of the United States consisted of 8 steamers, 

 18 barks and brigs, and 13 schooners, aggregating 8,366 tons. Of 

 these, 11 l)arks and 10 schooners were sperm-whale fishing in the 

 Atlantic Ocean, 8 steamers in the Arctic, 6 barks in Okhotsk Sea and 

 off the coast of Jajjan, 2 schooners in Hudson Bay, and 1 brig at Deso- 

 lation Island. 



The total whale-oil product of the world at present approximates 

 3,000,000 gallons yearly; of which 750,000 gallons are produced by the 

 United States fisheries, 900,000 by those of Norway, and the remain- 

 der by Scotland, Russia, Japan, Newfoundland, and other countries. 



THE BLUBBEK AND ITS YIELD OF OIL IN DIFFERENT AVHALES. 



The blubber is a layer or blanket of fat lying between the skin and 

 the flesh or muscles and encompassing the bodies of all cetaceans 

 and likewise of most of the other aquatic mammals. It varies in 

 thickness from 1 to __ inches, according to the species, size, and 

 condition of the animals. The blubber of right whales is thickei-, on 

 an average, than that of the cachalot or sperm whale, although an 

 individual of the last-named species has afforded fat 22 inches thick. 

 The blul)ber of most species is tough and elastic, but that of the 

 humpback is soft and yielding, and the ropes and chains encompassing 

 it tear out easily. The blubber of poor whales is hard, comi^act, and 

 tenacious; but when the animals are fat it is softer and yields oil 

 readily, even when handled. In color it varies from a yellowish or 

 dirty white to a somewhat unusual pinkish or reddish cast. ~The 

 whitish blubber is usually found on young whales, more especially 

 sucking calves, and is of a milky ai)pearance. That of old whales 

 has a coarse grain, and yields or gives out the oil freely; hence it is 

 not so difficult to boil as is the fat of young whales, from Avhich it is 

 almost impossible at times to extract the oil, the texture being so fine 

 and close. 



In case of the baleen whales the blubber from all parts of the ani- 

 mal is commingled and boiled together. With the sperm whale, how- 

 ever, the process of saving the oil is different. The most valuable oil 

 of tliis species is found in a large cavity oi- reservoir known as the 

 "case," situated anterior to the cranium, which yields clear oil and 

 si)ermaceti, in equal quantities. These products are known as "head 

 matter." Lying beneath the case is a wedge-shaped mass of pinkish 



