AQUATIC PRODUCTS IN ARTS AND INDUSTRIES. 215 



slow, tlie pot l)eiiig well spaded during the boiling to prevent the 

 blubber from sticking and burning to the bottom or side. 



The individual yield of oil varies considerably, walrus being much 

 fatter in some years than in others. But in general it is small in ijro- 

 portion to the size of the animal, an individual weighing 1,500 pounds 

 3'ielding only as much blubber as a seal of GOO pounds. An old bull 

 weighing 2,500 pounds might yield GOO pounds of blubber, but it is 

 seldom more than 450 pounds, and the average for the entire catch is 

 probably not in excess of 200 pounds. Nor is the blubber as rich in 

 oil as is that of the seal, 100 pounds of walrus fat yielding an average 

 of 10 gallons of oil, whereas an equal weight of seal blubber yields 

 about llj gallons. In 18G9 the ship Progress secured 565 barrels of 

 oil from 700 walrus, an average of 25.42 gallons each. This was con- 

 sidered an extra good yield. One thousand walrus secured by the 

 ship Onward in 1874 jdelded GOO barrels of oil, and 2,000 taken by the 

 Mercury in 1877 produced 1,100 barrels of oil." 



Walrus oil is usually of a yellowish color, with greater fluidity than 

 seal oil, and has a specific gravity of 0.925 at 59° F. according to 

 Brannt. It is more difficult to refine than the oil of the right whale. 

 Although classed rouglily as "whale oil" in the United States, it is 

 usually kept separate from the oil of the right whale and sold for 2 or 

 3 cents iJer gallon more than the latter. It is stated that the i)roduct 

 in the fisheries north of Euro]3e is generally mixed with and sold as 

 seal oil. 



OIL FROM SEA-LIONS AND FUR-SEALS. 



The blubber of the sea-lion is from J to 4 inches tliick, and that on 

 each individual yields from G to 20 gallons of oil. Thousands of bar- 

 rels of this oil were formerly secured along the coast of California, 

 but owing to the decrease in number of these animals, comparatively 

 little is now prepared. It is somewhat inferior to sea-elephant or 

 walrus oils, but much better than fur-seal oil. 



A number of years ago when whale and seal oils were quoted above 

 a dollar per gallon, there was some sale in this country for oil pre- 

 pared from the blubber of the fur-seal; but owing to the small quan- 

 tity available, the cost of production, and the technical inferiority of 

 the product, there has been no market for it for many years. The 

 blubber may average 1^ inches in thickness, varjdng according to the 

 time the animal has been on shore. The oil is of a yellowish-brown 

 color, gummy, and possesses an offensive odor. According to the 

 terms of the lease of the fur-sealing rights on the Pribilof Islands to 

 the North American Commercial Company, the United States Govern- 

 ment is entitled to receive 50 cents per gallon for all fur-seal oil pro- 

 duced there. This is in excess of the market value of the article, 

 leaving nothing for the cost of production and transportation, and, 

 needless to state, there is no revenue whatever from this item. 



«The Fishery Industries of the United States, Sec. V. Vol. II, p. 318. 



