tions, called "cutting in" and the "trying out." The whale is brought alongside of the ship, and the business of cutting in, by means of the spades, is effected. A man descends upon the floating carcase, and cutting a hole in the body of the whale, near its junction with the head, inserts a hook in the hole, by which that part is drawn up towards the ship by pulleys prepared for the purpose. This, particularly in a high sea, is a dangerous experiment, as the motion of the waves prevents certain footing upon the slippery body of the animal. A tension being produced upon the fat by this motion, it is cut by the spade in strips of two or three feet broad, and in a spiral direction, which is done by means of a windlass acting upon pulleys that are fixed to the maintop. The "blanket pieces," as they are termed, are removed by a similar process to that of a bandage unrolled from a circular body; and the animal is divested of its blubber to the flukes, the head being previously cut off and allowed to float, carefully secured, at the stern of the ship.

The carcase of the whale, after being flayed, is allowed to float off; the head is then hoisted on end by the pulleys, the case is opened, and the spermaceti is taken out, by means of a pole and bucket which is dipped into the cavity. The junk is then cut from the head. This is hoisted on board, and cut into square pieces, when the head is allowed to sink, being divested of the means of buoyancy. The blanket pieces, from eight to fourteen inches thick, are then cut from the long strips of fat, and, as well as the junk, are separated into thin pieces, upon blocks called horses, and thrown into the try-pots in which the blubber is melted. The membranous parts of the oil, which are called "scraps" by the sailors, are used as fuel; and the spermaceti from the case is boiled alone, and called "head matter." The oil and spermaceti are then placed in barrels, to be brought back into port.

The whalebone, which forms so important an article of commerce, is in the mouth of the whale, and forms a filter within peculiarly adapted to separate the sea-water from the sepia, or other fish, on which it feeds. The lamina, about 300 in number, are situated on each side of the head, and the longest blade is usually the test which designates the size of the whale. Its greatest length is fifteen feet; its greatest breadth, about twelve inches, and its greatest thickness, about five-tenths of an inch. The edge of each blade of the bone annexed to the tongue, is fringed with a sort of hair; and it is generally brought from Greenland in its natural state, although sometimes prepared for market on shipboard.

It is estimated by Scoresby, that four tuns of blubber produces generally about three tuns of oil, each tun comprising 252 gallons by wine measure. The colossal dimensions of this animal may be adjudged from the fact, that whales are sometimes caught which yield thirty tuns of pure oil, although these are, of course, not as common as those which produce twenty tuns. It has been found that the quantity of oil produced from a single whale, usually bears a uniform proportion to the length of the bone. The following table, prepared by one who has had much experience in the matter, gives the relative proportion which the size of the bone in a whale bears to the quantity of oil, and which is probably as accurate as any information which can be procured from the uncertain means of testing the fact.

Length of whalebone in 1
feet.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

5 6484 11 13 17 21

Oil yielded in tuns. 1 2 22 31 4

It is estimated that a whale of sixty feet in length, does not fall short of the weight of seventy tons, the blubber comprising about thirty tons; the bones of the head, whalebone, fins, and tail, ten, and the carcase nearly thirty-two. The flesh of the young whale is of a red colour, and in consistency it is somewhat like coarse beef, while that of the old whale is exceedingly black, being constituted of firm beds of muscles, which appear to be directed to the movements of the tail, the flesh being thus rendered too coarse to be eaten. These bones, however, are extremely porous, and contain much fine oil. "when

"The appearance of most whalemen," observes a writer in Hunt's Magazine, they return from a voyage, is hardy and robust in the extreme; the substantial food and

bracing air, afforded by the circumstances in which they are placed, as well as their violent exercise, serving to give remarkable vigour and animation to their constitutions.

The class

of men acting in the capacity of masters, and to whom we have before adverted, cannot be regarded with too great respect. As a body, they are men who have combined in their character the most valuable traits; cool, determined, and brave, they bear the weight of duties, and encounter hazards, which could hardly be appreciated upon the land. A striking difference exists, however, in the success of different masters of ships. Some appear always endowed with good luck, and make prosperous voyages, while others are as uniformly unfortunate in their expeditions. Doubtless, the different success of these captains may be attributable to a diversity in skill, energy, knowledge, and prudence; yet it is as often owing to circumstances which are known only to the Omniscient. We have in our eye one of these men, who, although yet comparatively young, is distinguished for his energy and his uniform success in these whaling expeditions. Spare in his form, there is a restlessness in his eye and frame, which seems to indicate that his soul is absorbed in his pursuit, and conquered by his ambition to succeed. Whenever he is enlisted as a master of a ship, that ship is sure to make a good voyage. He has worked his way, by degrees, to the station of principal owner in a large ship, starting as he did, a common sailor, and by his own efforts has already earned a considerable fortune. His course presents an exception to the general custom of whale fishermen, in the fact that he usually takes his wife with him to sea, and we have seen his little dark-eyed boy, with a complexion embrowned by a tropical sun, clothed in a complete suit of seal-skins, which he had procured with his father on one of his already many voyages round the world, in the prosecution of the whale-fishery. This man has been a source of vast profit to his employers, and while we are writing, is probably hurling the harpoon into a whale upon waves so high, and beneath clouds so dark, that other mariners would deem it prudent to lay to for preservation from the winds. He is, however, only one of that numerous class of the whale fishermen of New England, who have from the time of Burke, within the last half century, earned a reputation which is as wide as the commercial intelligence of the world.

"Nor do these hardy fishermen, although tossed for months upon the watery waste of the ocean, forget the friends whom they have left upon the land. The numerous rows of beautifully enamelled and polished shells of various forms, which line the cabinets of our seaport towns; the ostrich eggs, which the sailors often collect upon the shores of Africa, and bring home as curiosities made into bottles, and brought into port as presents; the canes, cut from the jaw-bone of the whale, of the colour of ivory, and carved with curious devices, evince the ingenuity with which they occupy their leisure time. Nor are the fine arts neglected by these sons of the ocean; for we see the walls of the houses of our whalemen frequently adorned, not disfigured, by well-executed paintings of the whale, in different postures, from the first blow of the harpoon to his last spouting of blood.

"Of late years, as we have seen, the states bordering the Atlantic, including the principal seaport towns of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and even the more inland states of New Jersey and Delaware, have embarked, to a considerable extent, in the whale fishery; and the luxurious edifices which adorn many of these cities, attest the enterprise of those who are engaged in the traffic, and the success of their labours."-Merchants' Magazine, various Sources.

The character of the inhabitants of Nantucket and the seaports from Cape Cod to New London, who follow the whale fishery, is grave, sober, and persevering; and they retain much of the deportment which characterised their ancestors, who were either quakers or puritans. Their ships in this employment, or their whale fleet, are each from 200 tons to 600 tons. With these vessels they navigate the greatest oceans, and most stormy regions. Their voyages average about two years and a half, but they are fitted out for three years; and care is taken to have every article that may be considered necessary to promote the comfort, and preserve the health of the crews.

The preparation for whaling voyages, and the departures of the ships, are attended with the most interesting circumstances. The mothers, wives, sisters, or daughters, of these hardy and adventurous men, are, long before the day of sailing, busily engaged in collecting every delicacy for the voyage, and providing and packing up all sorts of clothing suitable for the stormy and cold rigours of the Antarctic regions, as well as for the mild climate and gentle seas of the Pacific. On parting with them for a period of nearly, or more than three years, the old, middle-aged, and young, of both sexes, manifest in the most tender and affectionate manner, all the endearing feelings of the heart.

Some of these ships proceed round Cape Horn, others round the Cape of Good Hope, and they frequently meet in the Pacific. The Indian, Chinese, and Pacific Oceans, are better known to these men than to any other navigators; and to this circumstance, and their great caution in keeping two men always stationed at the mast head, on the look out for land or breakers, must be attributed the very few shipwrecks among them-for they certainly navigate the most boisterous regions, and the most imperfectly known seas, especially on the charts, in the world. The dangers to which they are exposed are great in the extreme, and innumerable are the hazards they encounter.

The whales most valued are considered as becoming scarcer, and ships are going farther south than before; and those engaged in the South Sea seal fishery proceed still farther than the whalers towards the South Pole. The ships seldom remain more than three months at a time over each whaling ground.

During these long voyages, the young men receive instructions, from those older, in mathematics, navigation, geography, the natural history of the South Seas, and in practical knowledge connected with their hazardous profession. They occasionally land and refresh themselves in some of the beautiful islands of the Pacific, and return on shipboard invigorated and recruited, to follow their proper pursuits.

LAW RELATIVE TO AMERICAN VESSELS ENGAGED IN THE WHALE FISHERY.

The following law, to cancel the bonds given to receive duties upon vessels and their cargoes, employed in the whale fishery, and to make registers lawful papers for such vessels, was passed by the present Congress of the United States, and approved by the President, April 4th, 1840 :—

1. That all vessels which have cleared, or hereafter may clear, with registers, for the purpose of engaging in the whale fishery, shall be deemed to have lawful and sufficient papers for such voyage, securing the privileges and rights of registered vessels, and the privileges and exemptions of vessels enrolled and licensed for like voyages, shall have the same privileges and measure of protection as if they had sailed with registers, if such voyages are completed, or until they are completed.

2. That all the provisions of the first section of the act, entitled "An act supplementary to the act concerning consuls and vice-consuls, and for the further protection of American seamen," passed on the 28th day of February, Anno Domini eighteen hundred and three, shall hereafter apply and be in full force as to vessels enrolled and licensed for the fisheries, and all vessels which have been engaged in the whale fishery, in the same manner and to the same extent as the same is now in force and applies to vessels bound on a foreign

voyage.

3. That all forfeitures, fees, duties, and charges of every description, required of the crew of such vessels, or assessed upon the vessels or cargoes, being the produce of such fishery, because of a supposed insufficiency of a register to exempt them from such claims, are hereby remitted; and all bonds given for such cause are hereby cancelled, and the secretary of the treasury is hereby required to refund all such monies as have been, or which may be paid into the treasury, to the rightful claimant, out of the revenues in his hands.

CHAPTER X.

BRITISH WHALE FISHERY.

THE British whale fishery, formerly so very extensive, has, from causes which have developed their effects during the last ten years, declined rapidly; and there is every probability that both the northern and southern British whale fishery will be discontinued from the ports of the United Kingdom. The substitution of vegetable and lard oils, and stearine from lard-the great outlay of capital in the southern whale fishery, the long period which must expire before any return can be realised for the expenditure, constitute the chief causes of the decline of the whale fishery from British ports. The Dutch whale fishery disappeared in the early part of the present century; the French whale fishery is only maintained by bounties taken from the national taxes, and we can scarcely hope that it can ever be revived so as to constitute a profitable pursuit from any port in Europe. If it should be carried on to any advantage by the Americans, we do not see why it should not be conducted with equal profit from the ports of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. We doubt, however, whether this expensive and perilous fishery can be continued for many years, with profit, from any of the Atlantic states. The rapidly increasing use of much cheaper and equally efficient substitutes for sperm oil and spermaceti, as well as for common whale oil, must cause a corresponding decrease in the price of other oils for the same uses; and unless they can be supplied with some profit at those reduced prices, they will cease to be produced. New Zealand, New South Wales, and Australia, are all conveniently situated for the whale fishery; and it appears to us that if the whale fishery is to be hereafter carried on with success and profit, it must be from establishments for the purpose, in those colonies, and in the islands of the Pacific. One great impediment to the continuance of the southern whale fishery is the heavy outlay of capital: and private individuals will hesitate before they invest, probably, all they possess in one great risk. Whether a company could safely enter upon a project which would employ a great number of ships, improve our naval architecture, and under a judiciously regulated system, elevate the moral character of seamen, and extend the scientific acquirements, and the requisite qualification for commanders, or shipmasters, is a question to be solved only by those who have the most practical knowledge of the subject.

STATEMENT of the Southern Whale Fishery carried on from Great Britain since 1800; exhibiting the Total Number of Ships annually absent from Great Britain on Whaling Expeditions; the Total Number of Ships that annually returned to Great Britain; the Annual Imports of Sperm and Common Oil, with the Prices of each; the Average Tonnage of the Ships at Sea; and the Average Number of Men to each Ship.