200 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



" sperni-oil soap " as a product. The ijroducts of whale oil, including 

 that of walrus, black-fish, sea-elephant, etc., are the winter, spring, 

 and summer pressings, a tallow-like substance known as whale foots, 

 and "oil soap." 



Sperm oil. — The two varieties of oil obtained from sperm whales, 

 viz, body oil and head matter, differ greatly in appearance. The 

 former is of a light straw color, while the latter when first taken from 

 the head of the whale is as clear and limpid as water, but after a short 

 time thickens and hardens into a white mass. Each animal is sup- 

 posed to yield about two-thirds body oil and one-third head matter. 

 These are kept separate on shipboard, but when received at the refin- 

 eries they are generally mixed in natural proportions and together sub- 

 mitted to the processes for separating the oil and spermaceti. 



In the process of refining, the crude oil is drawn from the casks and 

 heated for the purpose of driving off all the water. This is conven- 

 iently done by running it into large iron tanks of several hundred, or 

 even thousand, gallons capacity, where it is subjected to heat bj^ means 

 of coils of steam-pipes running around the inside of the tanks. When 

 heated in excess of 212° F. all moisture is soon expelled, and the oil 

 resists water; that is, water will refuse to mix with it and will "snap" 

 when dropped into the oil. By continuing the heating from six to ten 

 hours the crude oil is converted into a clear liquid state, all particles 

 of fat and blubber boiling out and the impurities settling at the 

 bottom of the tank. The steam is then shut off and, after the oil has 

 partly cooled, it is drawn off from the top of the tank into barrels or 

 casks with capacity of about 50 gallons each. The sediment which 

 precipitates at the bottom is drawn off and made into soap. 



In the barrels the oil is chilled. In cold weather, from December 1 

 to March 31, this is done by exposing the barrels and their contents 

 to the weather; but during the balance of the year it is necessary to 

 place them in large covered pits, where the oil is frozen by using ice 

 and salt packed among the barrels. To avoid the expense of artifi- 

 cial refrigeration, it is preferable to do the refining during the winter 

 season. 



After remaining in the pit from ten to fourteen days, at a tempera- 

 ture of about 32° F., the oil is thoroughly chilled, shrinks, and sepa- 

 rates or granulates into little balls or grains. It is then removed from 

 the refrigerator, shoveled from the barrels into canvas or hempen bags 

 holding from 2 to 4 gallons each, and placed in a press, where it is sub- 

 jected to a pressure of from one to two thousand pounds to the square 

 inch. There is thus pressed out a clear, cold oil known to the refiners as 

 "winter sperm oil," which will stand bright or will not congeal at a 

 low temperature fixed as a standard. Formerly the standard was 

 32° F., but at present the usjiial commercial test is 38° F. Oil of 23° 

 F. test has been prepared, but there was no demand for it. Since the 

 lower the temperature at which the congealed oil is pressed the less 

 the quantity yielded, it is not desirable to use any lower temper- 



