AQUATIC PRODUCTS IN ARTS AND INDUSTRIES. 209 



OILS FROM SEALS, WALRUS, ETC. 



The blubber or rat lying between the skin and the niuscular tissues 

 of the various members of the Piunipedia yields oil of much impor- 

 tance for technical purposes. The principal varieties on the market 

 are from the common seals or hair-seals of the North Atlantic, the 

 walrus, the sea-elephant, and the sea-lions. Each of these will be 

 discussed separately. 



SEAL OILS. 



Seals are found in various northern waters and especially off the 

 coast of Labrador and Newfoundland, in the waters of Greenland, 

 the Arctic Ocean north of Europe, in Caspian Sea, along the Nova 

 Scotian and New England coasts, in the Northern Pacific, and to a 

 much less extent in the Antarctic seas. The principal fisheries are 

 in the Arctic and North Atlantic ocea'ns, especially off the coasts of 

 Newfoundland, Greenland, and Northern Europe. The Caspian Sea 

 also affords an important seal fishery. 



The blubber of seals ranges in thickness from 1 to 3 inches, accord- 

 ing to the species, age, and condition of the animals. It is removed 

 from the pelts usually as soon as the latter are landed. If the weather 

 is warm, considerable oil of prime quality flows from the blubber dur- 

 ing the process of separating it from the pelt, and provision is made 

 for this free oil to flow into suitable receptacles. 



The oil may be at once extracted, or the blubber may be stored for 

 a more convenient season, especially'' if the weather be cold, as it is 

 much easier to extract the oil during warm weather. If the blubber 

 is stored, it should be in well-ventilated aj)artments, so arranged that 

 the oil forced out by compression and warmth may run into suitable 

 reservoirs. In the best-arranged storage rooms the reservoirs are 

 oak-wood casks, lined with lead in some instances, with capacity for 

 a thousand or more gallons. These are placed at intervals in the 

 floor, which is so inclined as to cause the oil to flow into the receptacle. 

 The oil which flows under these circumstances is usually clear, sweet, 

 and of prime quality. 



There are several methods of extracting the bulk of the oil from the 

 blubber, the one adopted depending to some extent on the proposed 

 use of the product and also on the amount of capital available for 

 equipment and the quantity of blubber to bo handled. The methods 

 may be divided into three principal classes, viz, (1) b}^ maceration 

 exposed to solar heat, (2) by cooking in open kettles, and (3) by the 

 apj)lication of steam. 



The simi^lest method of extracting the oil is by exposing the minced 

 blubber in a mass to the weather. The blubber is heaped up in large 

 tanks and — when the tem^jerature is suitable — clear, pale oil flows from 

 the mass. As putrefaction advances and the cellular texture is de- 

 stroyed, the mass yields oil of a reddish yellow and then a dark brown 

 color, with somewhat disagreeable odor and flavor, owing to the 



F. C. 1902 11 



