82 THE GREENLAND WHALE. 



suckers nearly two inches : it is generally of the sam 

 colour throughout its thickness. The oleaginous 

 substance called blubber, and constituting the most 

 valuable part of the animal, forms a complete 

 wrapper round the whole body from eight to twenty 

 inches thick. In some old animals it resembles the 

 substance of salmon, whilst in the younger it is 

 yellowish white. The lower jaw, excepting the 

 two bones, consists almost wholly of blubber, and 

 the crown bone is covered with it. The oil appears 

 to be retained in the blubber in minute cells ; it is 

 expelled when heated, four tons of blubber generally 

 affording three tons of oil ; and it in a great measure 

 discharges itself out of the fenks^ the square pieces 

 into which it is cut, whenever putrefaction in the 

 fibrous tissue takes place. The blubber in its fresh 

 state is without any unpleasant smell, and hence a 

 Greenland ship is not unpleasant in high latitudes. 



The flesh of a young whale is of a red colour, 

 and when cleared of fat, broiled, and seasoned with 

 pepper and salt, does not eat unlike coarse beef. 

 That of the old whale becomes blackish, and is 

 exceedingly coarse. The tail is very fibrous and 

 sinewy, and is extensively used, particularly in 

 Holland, in the manufacture of glue. 



The bones are very porous, and contain large 

 quantities of fine oil ; the jaw-bones, which measure 

 from twenty to twenty-five feet, are often taken 

 care of, principally on account of the oil which 

 drains out of them. The external surface of the 

 most porous is compact and hard ; the ribs are 



