66 FISHERIES OF ALASKA, 1908. 



more agreeable to the inhabitants of the water as well as to the 

 people on the shore. 



The whaling plant of the Tyee Company (described in detail 

 elsewhere in this report) was established primarily to prepare oil 

 and fertilizer from whales, and during 1908 met with very fair suc- 

 cess. The only other fertilizer plant operated in 1908 was that of 

 the long-established Alaska Oil and Guano Companj^, at KilHsnoo. ^ 

 During the season, which lasted from June 29 to October 28, the 

 company caught 37,560 barrels of herring and 7,680 barrels of sal- 

 mon (principally dog and humpback), a large gain over 1907, when 

 24,800 barrels of herring and 4,900 barrels of salmon were utilized. 

 A very small part of these were salted for food. Two steamers were 

 employed in the fishing. The fertilizer prepared amounted to 935 

 tons, valued at $30,000, while the oil extracted amounted to 136,500 

 gallons, valued at $27,000, a large increase oA^er 1907. 



THE WHALE FISHERY. 



The whaling station of the Tyee Company, at Tyee, in Murder 

 Cove, at the lower end of Admiralty Island, in southeast Alaska, 

 was completed early in 1907, but the delivery of the whaling steamer 

 was delayed by the builders until autumn, when the season was so 

 far advanced that the station was operated but a few weeks in that 

 year. During this period eight whales were taken. 



Three species of whales are sought by the whalers from this sta- 

 tion, viz: Sulphur bottom (Balsenoptera sulfureus), finback (Balse- 

 noptera velifera), and humpback {Megaptera longimana). 



The sulphur bottom is not only the largest whale found on the 

 coast, but also the largest known mammal, the length of an adult 

 varying from 60 to 100 feet. The origin of this name is not ver}^ 

 clear, some authorities stating that it was derived from a yellowish 

 cast to the skin on the lower side of the animal, though specimens 

 seen by the writer appeared the same color all over — a light gray or 

 slate color. During the months from May to September, inclusive, 

 these whales are often found in large numbers close in with the shore. 

 They yield a large quantity of oil, and 800 pounds of baleen, 3 feet 

 long, has been taken from the mouths of various individuals. 



The finback, or finner, sometimes called the blue rorqual, ap- 

 proaches the sulphur-bottom whale in length, in some cases meas- 

 uring 70 feet, but it has not the corresponding bulk. In outward 

 appearance the finback surpasses all the cetaceans and is acknowl- 

 edged to be the fastest whale that swims. Its back is colored a 

 blue-black, turning to almost white underneath. The flippers are 

 comparatively short, the dorsal fin prominent and situated nearer 

 midway of the animal's back than in the other rorquals. The 

 baleen, about 2 feet 6 inches in some cases, is colored a light bluish 



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