3-28 OILS AND FATS, ETC. 



fitable. The inhabitants, of that country are, in factual way s engaged in this 

 branch, of industry, and for many years the butchers of the capital have 

 been indebted to them for their principal supplies. Ever since the opening, 

 of the Black Sea, an active trade in tallow has- been carried on from its 

 ports, and more especially with England. Generally speaking, the mer- 

 chants who are engaged in the exportation of tallow, make their contracts- 

 during the winter with the dealers in the interior, and advance them a 

 part of the cost, or even the whole sum. In the spring, these latter 

 mike use of these advances. for the purchase of cattle at the different 

 fairs of the country.. The price of cattle varies considerably. The 

 slaughter-houses of Odessa, of Nicolaoff and of Kherson, are in full 

 activity from September to November. The ports of the Baltic cannot 

 compete with Southern Russia in this article ; and the demand at the 

 Black Sea ports invariably exceeds the supply.. 



Tallow at Galatz is divided into two qualities, called tallow and 

 chervice. The latter is the clean fat of the carcase and marrow boiled,, 

 and is much used in Constantinople for culinary purposes-; tallow 

 is the fat of the intestines, feet, &c, boiled It is generally sold 

 in parcels, c< insisting of two-thirds chervice, and one-third tallow. For 

 the Constantinople market chervice is worth 10 per cent, more than 

 tallow ; but for other European markets tallow is worth as much as. 

 chervice. 



Japanese Fish Oil — Four qualities.— The fish from which this oil 

 is obtained is not known to us. 



Black Fish Oil — Three qualities from Tasmania.— Sperm Oil, 

 Train Oil, and Southern Whale Oil from New South Wales. 



Up to within the last few years a large- portion of the export trade of 

 New South Wales was derived from the whale fisheries of the Southern 

 and Pacific Oceans. A great number of vessels engaged in this pursuit 

 either belonged to Sydney, or were accustomed to call at that port for 

 supplies. From a variety of causes, the principal of which was,. perhaps 

 the increasing value and dearth of labour, the number of ships thus 

 employed has lessened, and the trade proportionably declined ; the 

 article of oil now occupies a very low position in the list of colonial 

 exports. 



There has been a great decrease of late years in the value of the 

 Australian whale fisheries. A return of the vessels, British, colonial,, 

 and foreign, engaged in this trade that have visited Port Jackson during 

 the last ten years, shows that the number of these in the year 1846 was 

 80, but in the year 1852 had diminished to 29, the amount of tonnage of 

 whim during the several periods amounted to 20,288 and 7,534 tons.. 

 Owing to the long and uncertain periods occupied in whaling voyages 

 it would be impossible to ascertain the amount of oil obtained during 

 any particular period by vessels belonging to the colony. 



The official statistics show that in 1853, 329 tons of sperm whale oil 



