THE DRIFT OF THE SEA. 



325 



favored with good fish-markets. . Both shores of North America, 

 the east coast of China, with the west coasts of Europe and South 

 America, are all washed by cold waters, and therefore we may in- 

 fer that their markets abound with the most excellent fish. The 

 fisheries of Newfoundland and New England, over which nations 

 have wrangled for centuries, are in the cold water from Davis's 

 Strait. The fisheries of Japan and Eastern China, which almost, 

 if not quite, rival these, are situated also in the cold water. 



Neither India, nor the east coasts of Africa and South America, 

 where the warm waters are, are celebrated for their fish. 



925. Three thousand American vessels, it is said, are engaged 

 in the fisheries. If to these we add the Dutch, Frencli, and En- 

 glish, we shall have a grand total, perhaps, of not less than six or 

 eight thousand, of all sizes and flags, engaged in this one pursuit. 

 Of all the industrial pursuits of the sea, however, the whale fish- 

 ery is the most valuable. Wherefore, in treating of the physical 

 geography of the sea, a map for the whales would be useful. 



926. The sperm whale is a warm-water fish. The right whale 

 delights in cold water. An immense number of log-books of whal- 

 ers have been discussed at the National Observatory, with the 

 view of detecting the parts of the ocean in which the whales are 

 to be found at the different seasons of the year. Charts showing 

 the result have been published ; they form a part of the series of 

 Maury's Wind and Current Charts. 



927. In the course of these investigations, the discovery was 

 made that the torrid zone is, to the right whale, as a sea of fire, 

 through which he can not pass ; that the right whale of the north- 

 ern hemisphere and that of the southern are two difierent animals ; 

 and that the sperm whale has never been known to double the 

 Cape of Good Hope — he doubles Cape Horn. 



928. With these remarks, and the explanations given on Plate 

 IX., the parts of the ocean to which the right whale most resorts, 

 and the parts in which the sperm are found, may be seen at. a 

 glance. 



