FAMILY BAL.ENID 
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fending her young. It was formerly found in every part o^Wnocean in large troops ; but since 
its capture has become an object of commercial enterprise, it has been driven from the shores 
of Europe and North America, and is now pursued on the coasts of Africa, in the Indian ocean 
and the Arctic seas. From the structure of its jaws, and the smallness of its throat, it can 
only feed on the smaller oceanic animals, such as medusae or sea-jellies, shrimps, crabs, and 
some minute mollusca. These would at first appear to be insufficient for such huge monsters ; 
but when we examine the waters to which they resort, and which are termed their feeding 
grounds, our wonder ceases. Off the coast of Brazil, I have passed over hundreds of miles 
where these minute animals were so numerous as to discolor the water, giving it the appear¬ 
ance of wheat scattered over a reddish sand-bank. These are termed by the whalers the Brazil 
banks, and thither they have resorted of late years in pursuit of the whale. Scoresby has 
estimated, that in similar places in the Arctic seas, twenty-three quadrillions of such animalculje 
are distributed over a surface of two square miles. 
The whale fishery in this country, as in others, has been pursued with various success, and 
is even now subject to frequent fluctuations. The first vessel constructed expressly for this 
fishery, was a small sloop built at Nantucket in 1690. She was merely intended for cruising 
along shore. In 1715, the number of similar sloops was but fifteen; and from this period it 
went on increasing up to the war of the Revolution, when it was utterly destroyed by the 
English. 
In 1799, we employed 26 vessels, of 5055 tons. 
1800, “ 17 “ 2814 “ 
1801, “ 15 “ 2349 “ 
1802, “ 20 “ 3201 “ 
Of this last number, only one was fitted out from this State. It appears also that the business 
fell off very much from 1790 in the succeeding ten years, as may be seen by the following 
tables : 
1791, we exported 134,595 galls, sperm oil; 
447,323 galls, whale oil; 
82,400 lbs. sperm candles; 
124,829 lbs. whalebone. 
1802, we exported 28,470 galls, sperm oil; 
379,976 galls, whale oil; 
135,637 lbs. sperm candles; 
80,334 lbs. whalebone. 
The Right Whale was formerly captured in great numbers from sloops and whale-boats, 
along our whole coast, chiefly from February to May, although they appeared occasionally at 
all seasons of the year. Along the southern coast of Long Island, whale boats are still kept 
in readiness ; and upon the appearance of a whale, the people in the vicinity quickly assemble, 
and are soon in pursuit of the animal. The whale fishery, which includes not only this 
species, but also the Sperm Whale, is pursued in its various branches with great success, 
either by associations or by individuals. Every person employed is a shareholder, and of 
course this presents an additional motive for exertion. From a record kept at New-Bedford, 
which we have inserted below, it appears that the whole number of vessels employed in the 
