THE PLAYFUL HUMPBACK 



lifts that portion of her body out of the water while 

 the baby is nursing, which is probably the case. 



The milk itself looks exactly like cow's cream. 

 I once drew out about a gallon from a humpback and 

 tasted it. It was very disagreeable, but I imagine that 

 little of the original flavor was left, for the whale 

 had been killed about fourteen hours before and the 

 milk had not only soured but was also permeated with 

 the gases of decomposition. I am quite sure that 

 if fresh the milk would not be at all bad, and stories 

 are told (which, however, I have never substantiated 

 and greatly doubt) that when at sea the Norwegians 

 sometimes use on the table milk from a freshly killed 

 whale. 



A remarkable account of whale milking was pub- 

 lished in a New York newspaper and had such a 

 wide circulation that the facts may be of interest. It 

 seems that a reporter was sent to interview Dr. F. A. 

 Lucas, who had recently been at Newfoundland to 

 secure a blue whale's skeleton for the United States 

 National Museum, and during the conversation Dr. 

 Lucas jokingly remarked that it would be a fine idea 

 to entice two or three whales into a narrow bay, bar 

 the entrance with posts, and anchor a carcass inside. 

 This would attract great numbers of small crusta- 

 ceans and give food for the captive whales. The 

 animals might then be trained to come to a wharf 

 morning and evening and submit to being milked. 

 Thus the problem of "the high cost of milk" for an en- 

 tire village might easily be solved. 



The reporter was certain that this would fill his 



75 



