THE WHALE FISHERY. 



213 



"The right whale (Balcena antipodum) is often caught in the New Zealand waters. In this 

 animal the baleen plates take the place of teeth and hang suspended from the roof of the mouth. 

 Captain Grant, of Horatio, is said to have, captured a whale off this coast, New Zealand, yielding 

 over 2 tons of whalebone.. The baleen plates vary in size from a few inches to 12 feet in length. 

 Their chemical composition is albumen, hardened by small particles of the phosphate of lime. In 

 their natural state they are of a bluish black color, striped with white. They are covered with 

 small libers, which are carefully scraped off; the plates are then boiled until they are soft enough 

 to cut ; the color being objectionable, they are dyed black before being sent to market. The dyeing 

 is generally done during the process of boiling. 



" In 1878, the number of American whaling vessels which arrived at the various ports of New 

 Zealand was thirteen, with an aggregate tonnage of 3,422. In 1879, the number was fifteen, and 

 the tonnage 3,792. Captain Fisher, of the American whaling bark Alaska, now at Russell, Bay 

 of Islands, New Zealand, informs me that he has cruised off the coast of these islands for a period of 

 six years, and during that time he has taken over 7,000 barrels of sperm oil, which he thinks is 

 above the amount taken by any other vessel in the same length of time. He took home with him on 

 his last voyage, according to the New Bedford Republican Standard, the most valuable cargo of 

 sperm oil ever brought to that place, which is a good deal to say, inasmuch as New Bedford is the 

 largest port for whaling vessels in the world. Captain Fisher writes me at Russell, Bay of Islands, 

 New Zealand, nnder date of the 13th of May last, ' that he will sail lor New Bedford on the 20th 

 instant with 930 barrels of oil (800 sperm and 130 whale oil) and about 600 pounds of whalebone. 



"I give below a table showing the quantity and value of whalebone, whale oil, and sperm oil 

 exported Irom the various parts of New Zealand for each year since 1869 to 1880 : 



