Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-11-28
THE WHALE.
A Washington Scientist Tells All He
Knows About the Great Nam
NAL.
That Little Story About JOnah-Well
Study Natural History.
Mother Whale Brings Forth but One
or Two at Birth.

that the modern scientist can hope to conquer
but one department. Such thing as an
all-round scientist is not likely to exist in
years to come, and the man who successful
ly covers one branch Of scientific research
Is prodigy.
OF all modern scientists engaged in the
work Of investigation, perhaps none have
adopted a field more peculiar and enter
tanning than Professor Frederick w. True,
Of the National Museum. Professor True
is a young man, but, he has already spent
FIVE years Of his career as a scientist in
looking up one subject, namely, whales
The reason that my attention was di-
rected to the subject particularlv said
Professor 1'rue to Post reporter. " vas the
fact that so little was known to scientific
men concerning whales. The work OF
zoology either treated the whale with few
concentrations or ignored it altogether.
My purpose has been TO cover this field as
well as it can possibly be done with such
sources of information as are available. To
illustrate the lack of scientific knowledge
that exists, ! need OIL y to say that zOolo-
gists do not even agree upon the names Of
the species They have never been proper
ly classified and there are specimens that
so by one scientific name on tEis side of
the water and by an altogether different
name on the other side. It is because the
specimens in the museums of this country
and those in Europe have never been COM
pared
Such being the condition Of the liter
atWe ON the subject | resolved tovisit the
museums of Europe and to examine all the
types and specimens to which ! could gain
access. | spent four months in England
and the continent Of Europe in the study
of the specimens in question. OF the genera
Osca (the killers many additional facts have
TO be obtained before even a tolerably salts
factory account Of them can be written
But these matters are merely of scientific
value and few readers would be interested
in these details no matter how much time
the investigator had spent in, determin-
ing them
From what source do you get your in
formation about whales?"
AS | have already stated we do not get
much.
ONLY ABOUT EIGHTEEN SPECIES
of the ffty-six that frequent the coast Of
North Americana well known, and the ma
jority of these forms hayelot long been under
observation Thenumbnr Of species whose
habits. variations, and distribution are
throughly understood Is still small There
are doubtless many persons in the fishing
towns along the Atlantic who have the
opportunity to observe the habits of the
Atlaucie species under various conditions,
and tits to be regretted that their observa-
tions have not been recorded We have
10
through the agency of the life saving sa-
tions than through amy other source.
DO the whalers furnish much of value?''
They have furnished practically all that
is known of the habits of certain species
of whales. But whaling is a declining in
dustry The oil is no longer rs valuable
as it was years ago. Other oils have sup
planted it, and now whaling is hardly a
profitable occupation. At best the field of
observation is limited The life of the
whale Is passed with but little of it being
isible, and it Is not an approachable ami
mai. What is known Of its life has been
obtained at long range, and many errors
have thereby crept in. All the romance
about thrilling adventures in the capture
Of We whale have had their day 1t is
still regarded as dangerous occupation.
but nothing like what it was i'll the past.
You will hear no more stories of hand har-
pO0ning and the smoking line running out
over the bow. the boat t0wed by a eyia-
than at lightning speed. and all these de-
tails that illuminated the old-time stories
of the sea- Now whales are killed with a
bomb-lance, fired as any other projectie,
at moderately long range. 1t carries an
explosive substance that detonates when