Apparatus and Methods of Capture. gI 
custom has always been the famous “lay,’’ or certain 
share in the proceeds of the voyage. This system, as 
applied to the crews of whaling vessels, matured late in 
the eighteenth century. But in reality it was nothing 
new, being rather only an adaptation of the co-operative 
system of shore whaling in vogue at the eastern end of 
Long Island as far back as the middle of the seventeenth 
century. The prices of oil and bone were generally 
agreed upon before the voyage began, and were placed 
low enough to give a safe magrin of profit above any 
ordinary fluctuation in the market. Average ‘“‘lays’’ 
varied from about 7's for the captain to as little as 14s for 
a green foremast hand. Of the system of “lay’’ wages, 
Weeden® says, it was ‘The best co-operation of capital, 
capitalizer and laborer ever accomplished.’’ But so far 
as the laborer—the ordinary seaman—was concerned, 
the system was not so perfect. It was not at all unusual 
for the foremast hand to receive as little as two or three 
dollars, sometimes nothing at all, as his share. True 
it is that there had been advances during the voyage, 
but at best the total return was exceedingly small when 
one considers the dangers and hardships, the poor food 
and confined quarters on shipboard for voyages of often 
three or four years’ duration. Former whalemen state 
that even on a lay of z4;, their share of the proceeds from 
an eighteen months voyage was seldom more than two 
hundred and fifty dollars. All they received in addition 
was their food, and food of such a character that they 
“would not have touched it at home.’’ A “lay” of zs 
in a cargo valued at $100,000 is only $572. Divide this 
figure by three or even two, representing the years ordi- 
narily taken by such a voyage, and the disproportion 
between the risk and the return appears at once. Fur- 
thermore, the cargo worth $100,000 was not very common. 
Deep-sea whaling began from Nantucket about 1715 
® Weeden: Econ. and Soc. History of New England, Vol. I, p. 430. 
