CETACEANS. 223 



CHAPTER VII. 



COMMERCIAL, PRODUCTS OF THE SPERM 

 FISHERY. 



Sperm -oil Spermaceti Ambergris Ivory. 



THE oil obtained from the Sperm Whale is the 

 purest of all the animal oils employed in commerce ; 

 and is, consequently, the one most valued for domestic 

 illumination, as well as for lubricating the more delicate 

 kinds of machinery. 



It is peculiar in being almost entirely destitute of 

 odour; while other whale oils, as those obtained from the 

 True- Whale, Dolphin, Porpoise, &c., although equally 

 prepared from the recent blubber, and by a process pre- 

 cisely similar to that adopted in the preparation of Sperm- 

 oil, have ever a strong and disagreeable smell. In the 

 state in which it is received from the whaler, Sperm-oil 

 contains a variable proportion of Spermaceti, and other 

 gross matters, technically named "the foot;" it is 

 separated from these by being strained through woollen 

 bags, and is then fit for its ordinary uses. 



When thus purified, this oil is not very liable to con- 

 crete in cold weather, although, when combined with its 

 natural proportion of Spermaceti, it is open to that 

 objection in a very high degree. 



Spermaceti is a production not altogether peculiar to 

 the Cachalot, but is also found combined with the oil 

 of some other kinds of cetacea. It is, however, most 

 abundant in the Sperm Whale, and commerce is supplied 



