The Production of Whalebone 



88 3 



THE LATE DANIEL C. GILMAN 



MEMBERS of the National Geo- 

 graphic Society and every person 

 interested in geographic science will long 

 remember the late Daniel C. Gilman for 

 the leading part he has taken in geo- 

 graphical education and geographical 

 work during the past fifty years. The 

 first prominent position which Dr Gilman 

 held was the chair of physical and polit- 

 ical geography in Sheffield Scientific 

 School from 1856 to 1872. He then ac- 

 quired that liking and appreciation for 

 the study of geography which character- 

 ized his professional career. 



As President of the University of Cali- 

 fornia, of Johns Hopkins University, and 

 later of the Carnegie Institution, as au- 

 thor and again as editor-in-chief of the 

 magnificent New International Encyclo- 

 pedia, he always recognized the great 

 importance of geographical research. 

 Dr Gilman was one of the earliest mem- 

 bers of the National Geographic Society 

 and often addressed its meetings, and has 

 always been actively identified with its 

 work. The Society owes much to his 

 kindly, encouraging, and broad-minded 

 counsel freely given during 20 years. 



THEPRODUCTION OFWHALEBONE* 



IN the early days of the whale fishery 

 the valuable qualities of whale- 

 bone were not well known, and com- 

 paratively little of the product was 

 saved. The first importation into Eng- 

 land is supposed to have been in the year 

 1594, when a quantity was picked up 

 among the wreckage of a Biscayan ship. 

 An idea of the decrease in the supply 

 of whalebone and the corresponding in- 

 crease in value can be gathered when it 

 is shown from statistics that in 1853 the 

 total production in the United States was 

 5,652,300 pounds and the average value 

 per pound thirty-five cents, while in 1906 

 the entire production was about 96,600 

 pounds, which sold at an average of 

 $4.50 per pound! 



*Consult "Whalebone: Its Production and 

 Utilization," by Charles H. Stevenson. Bureau 

 of Fisheries Document No. 626. 



Of the whalebone taken by American 

 vessels during the last twenty-five years, 

 more than 90 per cent, has been secured 

 in the Arctic Ocean, and the remainder 

 mainly in Hudson Bay and in the Atlan- 

 tic. The total product landed from the 

 American fisheries during the nineteenth 

 century exceeded 90,000,000 pounds, 

 worth about $450,000,000 at the present 

 market valuation. 



The garniture of the mouth of the 

 whalebone whales is totally different 

 from that of the sperm whale. Instead 

 of teeth, there is a strainer-like appen- 

 dage called baleen, or whalebone, con- 

 sisting of several hundred horny, elastic 

 slabs or plates, which are attached to 

 each side of the upper jaw. The num- 

 ber of slabs on each side ranges from 

 260 to 360. This number, as well as the 

 length and quality, varies with the spe- 

 cies and the size of the whale. The 

 longest slabs are in the middle of each 

 side, and they gradually decrease in 

 length toward the ends of the jaw. 

 When the whale's mouth is closed, the 

 baleen fits into deep grooves ; when the 

 mouth is opened, the baleen springs for- 

 ward so as to fill entirely the space be- 

 tween the jaws, permitting the water to 

 pass through, but imprisoning the small 

 mollusks upon which the animal feeds. 



The lower edge of each slab of baleen, 

 as it hangs from the upper jaw, is 

 fringed with hair which resembles that 

 of a horse's mane or tail, but is coarser 

 and more brittle when dry. The exter- 

 nal surface of the slabs has the appear- 

 ance of enamel ; the interior is fibrous 

 and partakes of the nature of the hair- 

 like fringe. 



The material is regarded as a peculiar 

 development of hair, each slab an ag- 

 glomeration of hairs covered with en L 

 amel, and it is particularly interesting 

 as indicating the transition from hair to 

 horn. 



The several species of bone-bearing 

 whales yield baleen differing much in 

 quantity, length, and quality. The choic- 

 est is from the bowhead of the Arctic 

 Seas, yielding from 1,500 to 3,000 

 pounds each, the right-whale ranking 



