AQUATIC PRODUCTS IN ARTS AND INDUSTRIES. 189 



whales in 1000. The yield of oil upproxinuited 2,870 barrels, and of 

 whalebone 105,150 pounds. Five barks wei-e employed in sperm- 

 whaling off the coast of Japan, taking 4,100 barrels of oil. The mar- 

 ket for sperm oil in 1001 opened at 55 cents per gallon, but gradually 

 increased and closed the year at about OS cents per gallon. The 

 price of whale oil at San Francisco was 32 to 38 cents and in the 

 Eastern markets 38 cents per gallon. 



In 1002 the whaling fleet of the United States consisted of 8 steauiers, 

 18 barks and brigs, and 12 schooners, aggregating 8,306 tons. Of 

 these, 11 l)arks and 10 schooners were sperm-whale fishing in the 

 Atlantic Ocean, 8 steamers in the Arctic, 6 barks in Okhotsk Sea and 

 off the coast of Japan, 2 schooners in Hudson Bay, and 1 b]-ig at Deso- 

 lation Island. 



The total whale-oil product of the world at present approximates 

 3,000,000 gallons yearly ; of which 750,000 gallons are produced by the 

 United States fisheries, 000,000 by those of Norway, and the remain- 

 der by Scotland, Russia, .Tapan, Newfoundland, and other countries. 



THE BLUBBER AND ITS YIELD OF OIL IN DIFFERENT WHALES. 



The blubber is a layer or blanket of fat lying between the skin and 

 the flesh or muscles and encompassing the bodies of all cetaceans 

 and likewise of most of the other aciuatic mammals. It varies in 

 thickness from 1 to 22 inches, according to the species, size, and 

 condition of the animals. The blubber of right whales is thicker, on 

 an average, than that of the cachalot or sperm Avhale, although an 

 individual of the last-named species has afforded fat 22 inches thick. 

 The blubber of most species is tough aud elastic, but that of the 

 humpback is soft and yielding, and the roj^es and chains encomi)assing 

 it tear out easily. The blubber of poor whales is hard, compact, and 

 tenacious; but when the animals are fat it is softer and yields oil 

 readily, even when handled. In color it varies from a yellowish or 

 dirty white to a somewhat unusual pinkisli or reddish cast. The 

 whitish blubber is usually found on j'oung whales, more especially 

 sucking calves, and is of a milky appearance. That of old wjiales 

 has a coarse grain, and yields or gives out the oil freely; hence it is 

 not so difficult to boil as is the fat of young whales, from which it is 

 almost imi)ossible at times to extract the oil, the texture being so fine 

 and close. 



In case of the baleen whales the blubber from all parts of the ani- 

 mal is commingled and boiled together. With the sperm whale, how- 

 ever, the process of saving the oil is different. The most valuable oil 

 of this species is found in a large cavitj' or i-esei'voir knoAvn as the 

 "case," situated anterior to the cranium, which yields clear oil and 

 spermaceti, in equal quantities. These products are knowi^ as "head 

 matter." Lying beneath the case is a wedge-shaped mass of pinkish 



