78 
VOYAGE TO GREENLAND, 
inquiring of Captain Scoresby, what proportional 
difference there was between the height of floating 
ice above the water, and its depth below, he ob- 
served, that the irregularities of its shape above the 
surface prevented the formation of any certain rule 
to determine this point, but that, usually, the depth 
of ice below the water was to its height above the 
surface, as eight, or nine, to one ; now, as the average 
height of the piece to which we were moored, was 
about six feet, the mass might fairly be considered as 
a solid body of fifty feet in thickness. 
The making off now commenced : the quadrilateral 
pieces of blubber being brought upon deck, and the 
skin pared off, they were thrown into a hopper, and 
cut into small pieces by a very ingenious and simple 
machine, which allowed them to drop into a canvass 
tube, called a lull-bag'' and from thence into a tub 
in the hold. The blubber was afterw’ards put into 
casks* previously arranged for its conveyance to 
England. Captain Scoresby and myself had some 
excellent shooting of Burgomasters, Larus eburneus, 
Linn., or snow-birds, and Fulmar's PeteriL The 
bill of the Larus eburneus is of a deep lead colour ; 
the edges and tips yellowish ; it is two inches in 
length from the angle of the mouth ; the orbits of 
the eyes are red ; the index brown ; the legs and 
feet black ; the whole plumage of the purest white ; 
the length of the bird nineteen inches ; its extent 
of wing forty-one inches. An incredible number of 
the Promilarica glaucus, surrounded the ship during 
the making off ; these carnivorous birds, as before 
