Class IV. COMMON WHALE. '5 



Didionary of Commerce *, it being certain that 

 the whale fifhery was carried on, for the fake of 

 the oil, long before the difcovery of the ufe of whale 

 bone. 



The great refort of thefe animals was found to 

 be on the inhofpitable fhores of Spitzhergen^ and 

 the European (hips made that place their principal 

 fifhery, and for numbers of years were very fuc- 

 cefsful : the Englijh commenced that bufinefs about 

 the year 1598, and the town of Hull had the honor 

 of firfl attempting that profitable branch of trade. 

 At prefent it feems to be on the decline, the quan- 

 tity of filh being greatly reduced by the conflant 

 capture for fuch a vafl length of time: feme re- 

 cent accounts inform us, that the fifhers, from a 

 defedl of whales, apply themfelves to feal fifhery, 

 from which animals they extra6l an oil. This 

 we fear will not be of any long continuance ; for 

 thefe Ihy and timid creatures will foon be induced 

 to quit thofe fhores by being perpetually harraiTed, 

 as the mcrfe or walrus has already in a great 

 meafure done. We are alfo told, that the poor 

 -natives of Greenland begin even now to fuffer from 

 the decreafe of the feal in their feas, it being their 

 principal fubfiftence *, fo that fhould it totally de- 

 defert the coafl, the whole nation would be in dan- 

 ger of perifhing through want. 



In old times the whale feems never to have been Royai^ 



F 



ISH. 



Fol. I. 442. 



E 4 taken 



