The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-01-11
A LACK OF WHALEBONE
THIS SEASONS SUPPLY IS MUCH
 SMALLER THAN THAT OF 1896.


 This is the time of year when the men who prepare whalebone for the market are busiest. And, as it happens, whale bone is just now scarcer than ever before.
 "Whalebone was hard to get last year." said one of the largest dealers in the commodity, "but this seasons sup ply will be a good deal smaller than that of 1S96 A short time ago there were advices that eight whaling vessels and according to the latest news from that region there is danger that they will not be able to get out at all this season. If they do not, the shortage will con- tinue, and that will mean hard times for us, since, although the price is high, we can make no sales if we have no bone But if the ships should escape-it is hardly possible that they may even now, have forced their way out of the ice--we, shall have good trade at satis- factory figures.
 They have made a fair catch, but they will not bring south a large enough. supply to break the market Ruling quotations now range from $425 to $450 a pound, but the S5 mark will be reached soon, whether the imprisoned ships succeed in getting free or not.
 Nearly all the bone used in the United States is brought from the Arctic by Yankee whalers, although a little comes from the south Seas and some from Japan. The supply from all quarters is much less than formerly. The demand, too, is nothing like what it used to be, despite the great increase of population, for all sorts of celluloid, feather favor,' cork, rubber, steel and other substances have been very gen. erally adopted.
 ."The high grade-'shelP bone-goes into f1rst-class corsets, and Is used for stays in costly gowns, the demand for these purposes being so great that this quality IS put into nothing else, except certain surgical instruments. The grain, bone goes into the, cheaper corsets, whips etc. The two qualities differ greatly, the she'll bone being without grain and easily worked. While it is not one whit less elastic than the other, 1t can be pierced or bored without danger of splitting, but this is not true of the grain bone, which, as it's trade name indicates, is made up of flores that are prone to split apart
 Most of the cutting" of whalebone, xt. -sx. tA.., paration, is done in Paris and Bremen. A little is done, too, in London, and there are seven cutting establishments in the United States-four in New-Y York, two in Boston and one in San Franciso. It seems strange that the industry should be so slightly represented in San Francisco, the great port for the reception of the raw bone, but in that regard this business does not differ from some others, notably sugar re- fining, which is chiefly carried on in New York for the entire United States. and cotton milling, which is carried on in England and England for the whole world, despite the fact that the worlds sugar and cotton crops are raised thousands Of miles further souilt.
 Five years ago the supply of whale bone was as phenomenally large as the present supply is small There had | been an unusually heavy take after I several lean years and at least 250,000 pounds, worth A a pound, or cool 1 $1,000000 altogether. was stored in little brick and stone structure on the Potero shore of San Franciso Bay.
 l This unprecedented and never since approached supply was as carefully as
 guarded as if it had been made up of l golden eagles. Not that there was
 much danger of it's being stolen--for
 whalebone is stored in such heavy
 masses that 1t cannot easily be taken
 away--but it is decidely int1ammable
 substance. and there was great fear of | fire. The storehouse Is a perfect vault,
 with walls of brick and stone and iron l roof and iron doors. A perforated pipe, | from which the whole place could be
 readily flooded in case of a sudden out ] break of fire, runs all around the top,
 and when the store of bone is large, | trusted watchnan guard the place night
 and day.
 | iHefS lS diWdS5 SItdt ddHSSl lO i whalebone from rats-pests which are l extremely numerous on the San Fran | ciso waterfront, especially in the fall, 1 when the whaleships make their ap- l pearance. In order to make sure that these sharp toothed destruyers shall be 1 kept out, small iron doors, grated in | small meshes have been put in. When | the big doors are opened for ventilation | and whalebone must be treated to | plenty of fresh air--these grated screens
 are shut As rats teeth, though potent are not quite hard enough to negotiate
 cold iron this precaution has always
 served it's purpose admira bly,.
 Because of the possibility of fire, the
 men who receive the bone from the ships are always in a hurry to get
 through with it. As soon as bone | laden craft docks a big force of men is
 employed, and they pitch in and | transfer the cargo with all possible
 haste, working night and day until the task Is done. And as soon there after as it is feasible the whole batch is put aboard ships and railroad trains
 for the East. there to be dis ributed tt
 the American and European cutting
 establishments.
 From a thousand to three thousand
 pounds of bone are furnished by eacf
 whale, the latter amount, however
 being decidedly exceptional. Before