234 
THE EIN WHALE FISHERY IN NORTH LAPLAND. OCT., 1889. 
operated upon. The lower jaw bones are cut out, and the 
baleen plates removed to be divided up into the separate 
laminae, and dried in the open. When all the blubber and 
other oil-bearing portions have been removed, the carcase or 
“ crang ” is towed oft’ and sold to a guano factory, where it 
is converted into manure. 
The oii procured is of different qualities, according to the 
part from which it has been obtained, that from the back of 
the Common Rorqual being reckoned the best ; next in order 
comes that from the blubber of the belly and the tongue, and 
so on (see account in Mr. Cocks’ paper). 
In 1885 Norwegian “ Finner ” oil sold for £18 a ton ; and 
in the same vear Greenland whale oil sold for £22 a ton 
«/ 
(formerly as much as £40), and Bottlenosed Whale oil £25 
a ton (formerly £60). It is used for a variety of purposes ; 
for burning, lubricating machinery, currying chamois leather, 
in batching flax, and in the manufacture of jute fibre, &c. 
The whalebone, or baleen (called commercially “ whale- 
fin ”), procured from the Rorquals is very inferior to that of 
the Right Whales. That of the Blue Whale is more 
valuable than that of the other Balaenopteriaae ; the price 
last year being £180 a ton, and this was considered a fairly 
good price. Greenland Whale baleen will fetch £1,500 a ton 
or more, but the market prices vary enormously every year. 
The otherwise rejected carcases with the bones are, as I 
have said, sold to the various guano factories, where tliev are 
converted into guano and glue. For guano the “crang ” and 
bones are dried, ground, and mixed ; some comes to England, 
but the greater part is sent to Hamburg, where the guano is 
subjected to chemical processes. 
The bones are for the most part useless for manufacturing 
bone articles, as they are so porous, but from the outer portions 
of the lower jaw can be made various small articles, knitting 
needles, &c. 
Another useful product of this industry is “wliale- 
beef.’' Although this no longer ranks as a delicacy, still 
in former times it was considered as such. In the 
12tli to the 15tli centuries, whale flesh was largely con¬ 
sumed by the Dutch. French, and Spaniards, and was 
sold in the markets of Bavonne and Biarritz, the tongue being 
especially favoured. Henry III. was particularly fond of 
it, and it appeared as a luxury at the municipal banquets. 
Whale flesh is not altogether scorned now-a-days. The 
“ Xiania Preserving Company” tin large quantities of the 
flesh of the Rudolphi Rorqual, that of other species not 
being considered good. The Lapps frequently come down to 
