WHALEBONE: ITS PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION, 



By Charles H. Stevenson. 



BALEEN. 



The garniture of the mouth of the whalebone whales is totally 

 different from that of the sperm whale. Instead of teeth, there is a 

 strainer-like appendage called baleen, or whalebone, consisting of sev- 

 eral hundred horny, elastic slabs or plates, which are attached to 

 each side of the upper jaw. The number of slabs on each side ranges 

 from 260 to 360. This number, as well as the length and quality, 

 varies with the species and the size of the whale. The longest slabs 

 are in the middle of each side, and they gradually decrease in length 

 toward the ends of the jaw. "\'\'Tien the whale's mouth is closed, the 

 baleen fits into deep grooves; when the mouth is opened, the baleen 

 springs forward so as to fill entirely the space between the jaws, per- 

 mitting the water to pass through, but imprisoning the small mollusks 

 upon which the animal feeds. 



The lower edge of each slab of baleen, as it hangs from the upper 

 jaw, is fringed with hair which resembles that of a horse's mane 

 or tail, but is coarser and more brittle when dry. The external sur- 

 face of the slabs has the appearance of enamel ; the interior is fibrous 

 and partakes of the nature of the hair-like fringe. The color is 

 usually a dull grayish-black or bluish-black, with occasional longi- 

 tudinal streaks of a light horn color. The texture is lamellar in the 

 direction of the breadth of the blade. The material is regarded as 

 a peculiar development of hair, each slab an agglomeration of hairs 

 covered with enamel, the rigidity and elasticity of the substance re- 

 sulting from the peculiar structure. In its chemical and principal 

 physical properties it resembles horn perfectly, and it is particularly 

 interesting as indicating the transition from hair to horn. 



The different species of bone-bearing whales yield baleen differing 

 much in length, formation, and quality. The choicest is the baleen 

 from the bowhead of the Arctic Seas, which has constituted the 

 great bulk on the market during the last forty years. Some of this 

 is very long, single slabs measuring 10 feet or more in length, the 

 width at the butt approximating 10 or 12 inches. Formerly the 

 Arctic fishermen secured baleen 15 feet in length, but in late years 

 12 feet is about the maximum. The outer edge is frequently curved, 

 and the slabs taper gradually and gracefull}' from the base to the 

 fringy end. The external and likewise the internal fibers are black- 



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