4$ NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Value of a whale. 



them to receive the oil which they discharge 

 which oil belongs to the captain. 



In three or four days they hoist the pieces olf 

 blubber out of the hold, chop ami put them by 

 in small pieces through the bung-holes into the 

 casks. 



A whale, the longest blade of whose mouth 

 measures nine or ten feet, will yield about thirty 

 butts of blubber; but some of the largest will 

 yield upwards of seventy. One of the latter is 

 generally worth about one thousand pounds ster- 

 ling; and a full ship of about three hundred ton* 

 burthen, will produce more than five thousand 

 pounds from one voyage. 



Premiums on every whale that is taken, are 

 given to all engaged, from the captain to the men 

 who row the boats, which render them active in 

 the service of their employers. 



The whale-fishery begins in May, and conti- 

 nues through the months of June and July; Inn 

 whether the ships have had good or bad success. 

 they must come away and get clear of the ice by 

 the end of August: so that in the month of Sep- 

 tember, at furthest, they may be expected home; 

 but the more fortunate ships often return in June 

 or July. 



