The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-03-25

many - $40 having been counted. The blades ae
longest In the middle Of this long ssrtes, and grad
ually diminish toward both nds of the mouth.
The outer side Of the blades that turn toward
the lips II straight and hard. the inner side In
frayed out into innumsrable hairlike processes,
Thus an exceedingly sfncisnt straining apparatus
Is formed, II has bcen suggested tina. certain
transverse lines upon the plates are annual rings,
II this be true. the Greenland whale lives to an
aye Of 90 years The usr Of whAlebone for
ladies stays, and, formerly. for the ribs Of UNI
brellas IN well known. les familiar Ii the fact
that certain rch silks which stand for themselves
owe some OF their hrmness TO very thin shreds
Of whAlebone incorporated with the dix threads,
Whalebone IL still n costly article. As late
~ 1897 It's value wAs computed at 500 0 per ton.
Let us sum up the conclusions reached In the
authors hrst three chapters by answering the
question, Why Ia u whale not a hsh7 A whale
Is q hot blooded creature breathing by means Of
lungs which lie In the intenor Of the body In a def.
mite chest cavity. shut of from the rest 81 the
cavity Of the BODY Ctha, which contains the In
~tas,insS. liver. &C } by a largely muscular par
ution. the diaphragm. II has frequently YES
uges Of the hairs which cover the bodies Of other
mammals In the presence Of q few scattered hairs
In the neighborhood Of the mouth. II brings
forth It's young alive, and suckles them with milk
The bones Of the skull are precisely those Of
Other mammals, and only differ slightly In their
relative arrangement No creature which has
these characteristics Is anything but a mammal
To determine. however, whereabouts in the long
series Of mammals the whale Tribe should be
tntercalated IN q matter which is, al present,
beyond our knowledge
The economic products Of whales are the flesh.
the bones, the whalcboncs and the oil derived
from the blubber We shall glance a little latter
at ambersrs, which il q product Of the Sperm
whale only Tho flesh Of the Gazing whale. q
Scottish term for driving whale" Giobieepha'us
MEAS. Is used by the inhabitants OF the Orkneys
for food, and that OF various other whales Is eaten,
but i, Is not on article o. general consumption
The bones. az we'll az the flesh. can be and are
turned TO account. In the case Of stranded
whales for manure. and the ibs have bcen at
various times and by diferen, peoples used to
build huts with The oil Of whales IS derived
from the blubbsr, which forms a thick coating
Immediately underlying the skin There is
also In many whales. especially In the Sperm
whale. a certain amount Of clear oil con
tained In the head. which Is solid whom cold. and
~ hll'Wu ~ ~ NV " "'h'
oil is ancient NJ Pouchet tells Of a convent
mentioned In the life N ST Philibert which had
run short OF oil. In answer " the prayers Of the
inmates, a large whale was found stranded the
ne,tday This WAS In A D 6s4 thinks
that whales were more frequently stranded In
old times than now. for the reason bal, not being
hunted. they were more numerous. Even now
no season passes withou, the record Of a few whales
stranded upon the shores OF Great Britain, and II
1, to this circumstance hist our knowledge OF whales
Is largely dus The date Of the frst active hunt
ing Of whales IL disputed. Some say that the
Basques we're the earliest race TO eng age In the
pursuit Of whales a. a commercial enterprise:
others hold that the \ orvegians were tho pioneer,
In this branch OF industry II Is clear that whal-
ing was systematically practised In England
a. early az the year 1000 The American whale
fishery began not later thar the year 1914 Al
fret. the animals wers purs ued from the shore,
and the island Of Nantucket was the headquarters
Of the industry Ultimately. ships were fitted
ont for long VOYAGES, and. in 1900, a ship hailing
from New Bedford doubled Cape Horn, and in
augurated the Southern whale fishery. Fifteen
wears before that date. there had been as many
ss three hundred vessels engaged In the industry.
and. by 1910. the total number Of SHIPS had In
creased 10 about seven hundred and thirty, repre-
-enting an aggregate tonnage Of 233, l8s tons.
The year last named seems TO have represented
the culmiuation Of the whale trade In Amenca
It Is calculated that during the years 1892
captured or destroyed