Finback Whale 
capture. . Other whales will not stop until they are hamstrung, as 
it were, by ‘spading.’ The spading process is performed by haul- 
ing the boat near enough to cut the cords that connect the body 
and the flukes either on top or underneath. A large vein runs 
along the side of the back, terminating at the juncture of the 
caudal fin which, if cut, will give the creature its death wound.” 
Another method of bringing the animal to a stop is by lacerating it 
with numerous harpoons detached from the ropes. ‘‘ When brought 
to, it usually remains quite stationary for a few minutes or will 
roll from side to side, giving the officer of the boat a good 
opportunity to shoot a bomb lance or use the hand lance with 
good effect, which soon dispatches it.” 
The ship is then brought alongside or, in calm weather, the 
whale is towed to it and the ‘‘cutting in,” as it is termed, 
begins. A cutting stage is lowered down over the animal upon 
which the men may stand, the tackles are fastened to the carcass 
and the head is severed and hoisted on deck while the remainder 
is cut according to a regular system so that the blubber is re- 
moved in several great masses while the mutilated remnant of 
the monster floats away or sinks to the bottom. The blubber 
and baleen are removed from the head later. 
Scammon states that the great bowhead whale will sometimes 
yield as much as 275 barrels of oil and the right whale 130 bar- 
rels, while the whalebone of the two may amount to 3,000 and 
1,550 pounds respectively. 
Whaling has been engaged in since 1712 by vessels from 
New England ports, especially Nantucket and New Bedford, and 
in England and Scotland it has been carried on for over a century. 
Guns for shooting the harpoons have superseded the hand- 
throwing process and improved harpoons have been introduced 
carrying explosive bombs which are calculated to kill the whale 
as soon as they strike, but so wary have the survivors become 
that in this instance modern improvements will have little effect 
in hastening extermination already so far advanced. 
Finback Whale 
Batenoptera physalis (Linnzus) 
Called also Rorgual, Finner. 
Length. 40-50 feet. 


