Introductory Chapter. 5 
better, if not a somewhat different, impression from 
that gained in reading Starbuck’s adaptation of it. 
That, however, is a rather unimportant matter, but for 
an authority it is best to use Macy directly wherever 
possible, rather than to use Starbuck’s more recent work. 
In the chapters covering the period from the begin- 
ning of whaling by the early colonists, down to the end 
of the war of 1812, Starbuck’s history is generally ser- 
viceable and satisfactory. But the history of whaling 
subsequent to 1815 is by no means as adequately treated. 
There is no clear statement of the conditions underlying 
the great growth of whaling interests from 1825 onward, 
in fact, there is very little said about the growth itself. 
Starbuck touches on some of the important causes 
which started the decline of whaling and there he stops. 
In a book of nearly 800 pages, about 170 odd pages are 
given up to the historical discussion, and the rest is 
devoted to lists of clearances, entries and cargoes, of the 
individual vessels from 1784 to 1876. These records 
are valuable in a way, but not sufficiently important to 
deserve so much space when the history of the industry 
itself was left unfinished. 
Three rather serious defects appear in Starbuck’s 
work: (1) the fact, already noted, that the period 
from 1825 to 1860 receives but little attention in spite 
of the fact that it was the most important era in the 
whole history of whaling. Why Starbuck did not 
discuss it clearly is hard to understand. (2) He places 
no emphasis whatever on the commercial and economic 
aspects of the industry. In fact, he scarcely mentions 
the development of trade in whale products. Yet the 
whale fishery was one of the most important of the New 
England fisheries and its products formed a large part 
of the country’s export trade during the early days of 
whaling. (3) And finally, from his more or less irreg- 
ular arrangement of topics it is rather difficult to trace 
the growth of whaling interests. Starbuck’s work was 
