I 
185 
6 
CHAPTER XIV. 
OF THE “ CUTTING IN ” AND “ TRYING OUT ® 3 
After the death of the whale, the next steps are to 
remove the fat and spermaceti, and to extract the oil, 
the reward of so much exertion and dangerous enter- 
prise. This process, which is called “ cutting in,” is 
divided into two stages, the cutting in and trying out- 
in these operations the utmost cleanliness is observed. 
As soon as possible after the whale has been killed, it is 
brought alongside the ship to be cut in, by means of in- 
struments which are called “ spades.” A man descends 
upon the floating carcass, after a hole has been cut near 
the junction of the body with the head by a person 
stationed on a stage by the side of the ship, into which 
a large blunt hook is inserted bv the man who descends 
O %/ 
upon the body of the whale for that purpose, and which is 
called “ hooking on a troublesome and even dangerous 
operation in a turbulent sea, from which I have often 
seen men drawn up by the rope which is always fixed 
around them, in a completely exhausted state, from 
having been frequently submersed by the waves as they 
have rolled over the body of the whale during the time 
they have been endeavouring to “ hook on.” After the 
