THE WHALE FISHERY. 17 



around Van Diemen's Land, or Tasmania, which place, for the past ten years, has employed a fleet 

 of eleven vessels, principally in the sperm-whale fishery in this vicinity. . In the year 1872 nineteen 

 vessels, measuring 4,917 tons, belonged at Tasmania, and produced 112 barrels of whale oil and 

 2,712 barrels of sperm oil. 



The vicinity of New Zealand was once an important right-whaling ground, and is still occa- 

 sionally visited by vessels, that meet with moderate success, taking both right and sperm whales. 

 The grounds are both inshore and ofl'shore ; the most noted of those offshore, from October to 

 March, are from latitude 38 to 48 south, and longitude 154 to 162 east. Commencing the 

 season to the north, vessels work south with the whales. Around the Auckland Islands and in 

 the vicinity of Stewart's Island, from the land to 100 miles offshore, are good cruising grounds; 

 also from 36 to 45 south latitude, and 160 east to 160 west longitude. 



Eight whales were taken in abundance off the coast of Chili about forty years ago, and a few 

 vessels still cruise in that vicinity, making mixed voyages for sperm and whale oil. The season is 

 from September 1 to January 1, on the grounds from latitude 42 to 47 south, and longitude 75 

 to 80 west. After the beginning of the year vessels work along shore toward the north as far 

 as latitude 35 south, occasionally anchoring in .the bays and cruising back and forth between 

 the thirty-fifth and the fortieth parallels until May. The most noted grounds are Concepcion and 

 St. Vincent bays, near the port of Talcahuana, where they formerly cau ght their whales and tried 

 out their oil while at anchor, sometimes taking 1,000 barrels of oil in a month. Some vessels used 

 to winter in these bays, though they were not very successful in the winter months. 



NORTH PACIFIC GROUNDS. One of the principal cruising places for right whales in this 

 ocean is that known as the "Northwest coast right- whale ground," or the "Kadiak ground," 

 situated near an island of that name off the Aliaska peninsula, and extending from latitude 50 to 

 00 north, and longitude 130 to 160 west. The best portion of this ground lies between 

 latitude 55 to 58 north, and longitude 140 to 152 east, and the most profitable cruising season 

 is from April to October. The first whaling vessel to cruise here was the ship Ganges, of Nan- 

 tucket, commanded by Capt. Barzillar Folger. This was in the year 1835, from which time until 

 within a few years past the Kadiak was the most important ground north of the Japan ground. 

 The whales taken on this ground average about 125 barrels of oil each, the male or bull making 

 from 60 to 100 barrels, and the cow whale from 100 to 250 barrels. The bone will average about 

 1,000 pounds to 100 barrels of oil, and is much longer than the South Sea bone. A full-grown 

 whale here has about two hundred slabs of bone, varying in length from 1 foot to 11 feet. Some 

 of these whales, though apparently good when taken, prove to be " dry skins," making no oil, and 

 many of them sink after being killed. The blubber varies in thickness on different parts of the 

 body, being from 5 to 15 inches on a 100-barrel whale, and on a 200-barrel from 5 to 18 inches. 

 The lips, from which oil is also taken, sometimes yield from 8 to 10 barrels. 



Eight whales are found and have been captured around the Fox Islands and in Bristol Bay 

 north of the Aliaska peninsula. In Bering Sea, along the coast of Kamchatka, there is good 

 right whaling ; also at the entrance to Okhotsk Sea, and in the southern part of that sea during 

 the months of April and May. They are also taken in the Japan and the Yellow Seas. "In 

 former years," says Scainmon, "the right whales were found on the coast of Oregon, and occa- 

 sionly in large numbers ; the few frequenting the coast of California are supposed to have been 

 merely stragglers from their northern haunts. Some, indeed, have been taken (from February to 

 April) as far south as the Bay of San Sebastian Viscaino, and about Cerros Island, both places 

 being near the parallel of 29 north latitude." * 



* Marine Mammalia, p. 66. 



SEC. v, VOL. ii 2 



