CUTTING UP THE BLUBBER. 77 



whole of it, and not to cut or shave the skin itself; 

 but, by a sort of morning motion of the knife, which 

 is held in both hands, from left to right, these men 

 do it with great rapidity and neatness. As the 

 blubber is peeled off it is divided into slabs of twen- 

 ty or thirty pounds 1 weight each, and thrown down 

 the hatchway, where two men are ready to receive 

 it, and to slip it into the square bung-holes of the 

 casks ; from its oleaginousness it soon finds its own 

 level in the casks, and when full these are fastened 

 up. I ought to have mentioned that the skins of 

 full-grown walruses are always taken off the animal 

 in two halves, being divided longitudinally down 

 the back and the belly ; the skins of calf walruses 

 and seals are always left entire. Walrus hide is a 

 valuable commodity, and sells for from two to four 

 dollars per half skin, calves only counting for a 

 half; it is principally exported to Russia and Swe- 

 den, where it is used to manufacture harness and 

 sole leather ; it is also twisted into tiller-ropes, and 

 is used for protecting the rigging of ships from chaf- 

 ing. In former times nearly all the rigging of ves- 

 sels on the north coasts of Norway and Russia used 

 to be composed of walrus-skin. 



When there is a superfluity of the article in the 

 market I believe it is boiled into glue. It is from 

 an inch to an inch and a half thick, very pliable in 

 its green state, but slightly spongy, so that I should 

 doubt the quality of the leather made from it. 



The seal-skins mostly find their way to Scotland, 



