11)2 



KEPOET OF COMMISSIONEE OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Lawrence River, where it forms the object of h small but profitable 

 fishery. The steam-whalers sometimes pursue and capture it in great 

 numbers in tlie Arctic, but only when the Greenland whale can not 

 be found, for the yield of oil is small and the animal is so swift and 

 active that it is not readilj^ caiJtured. The adult is from 10 to 15 feet 

 in length, and of a creamy white color. Tlie blubber is about 2 inches 

 thick, and each animal yields from 20 to 100 gallons of oil excellent in 

 lubricating qualities. 



The orca affords a good variety' of oil, but owing to its aggressive- 

 ness it is not often attacked b}^ the whalers. It has occasionallj'^ l)een 

 captured on the New England coast, and has also been taken on tlie 

 west coast of Africa, especially off Walfisch Bay. The blubber is 2 

 or 3 inches thick, and simila- in color and texture to that of the sperm 

 whale. 



The narwhal yields a small quantity of oil, which is used consider- 

 ably by the Eskimos and Greenlanders. It is ordinarily very pale 

 iu color, in fact almost colorless. The narwhal is not usually an 

 object of pursuit by our whalemen, as its capture is surrounded Avitli 

 mau}^ difficulties, owing to its retreats in the ice floes. The valuable 

 black-fish and porpoise oils are discussed in a seijarate chapter. 



The following tabulated statement of the jdeld of oil from the sev- 

 eral sijecies of cetaceans has been prepared with much care after con- 

 sultation with the most experienced whalemen of various ports : 



The methods of cutting-in and removing the blubber have already 

 been described by numerous writers, and especialh^ by James Temple 

 Brown," rendering unnecessary any extended description in this paper. 



Suffice it to state that the whale is attached to the side of the A'essel, 

 and by cutting in a spiral line and at the same time rolling the 

 cetacean, the blubber is removed in a helical strii) 5 or 6 feet wide, 

 and this is boarded in lengths of 12 or 15 feet, called "blanket-pieces." 

 TIk; manner oC doing this and of boarding the head gear is germane 

 to nautical engineering rather than to the subject of oil-rendering. 



"Fishery Industries of the United States, Vol 2, Sec. 5, p. 278. 



