The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-12-22

comes from the bOwhead whale of tne
Arctic seas. Baleen il liz called in it's natural
state. Lake an enormous strainer there
depends from great slabs which form the
roof Of the bowhcad'S mouth hair like that
of q horses name but much Coarser. The
economic value Of this so far
as the whale personally is concerned lies
in the fact that when he opens his mouth
the water PUSHES in and out again, while
all the fish life IL contains becomes en-
tangled in the fringe of tire baleen and il
transferred to the whale stomach in a leis-
urely and comfortable n
There are from 200 to 200 Of these great
elaSic slabs On each side of the whales
mouth. When the mouth is closed the
baleen fits into grooves ingeniouslv and
conveniently placed. When il is opened
the baleen springs forward so as 10 ill
completely the space between the Jaws.
Some Of the slabs Of baleen in the mouth
of the bOwhead are ten or twelve feet long.
with a width Of ten inches at the base.
The Pacific right whale yields baleen nearly
as large al that Of the bowhead but Of
coarser texture: the finback whale produces
short baleen, and the South Sea whalebone
il short and coarse. The baleen Of the
h~umpbaCk whale in so poor as hardly to
he worth taking.
When a kill has been made the fishermen
hoist the upper jaw on the deck of their
vessel with the layer Of bone attached.
Cutting spades are pushed along the o
bttWttu tut yum anu tOe JtWDOue, anu
the entire head being suspended from
tackle. the weight Of the One itself aids
in detaching il from the jaws.
Then with spades and axes the fishermen
separate the mass of zone into pieces Of
from three 10 six slabs each. when il ia
stored in the hold until leisure comes for
cleaning it. Then the slabs are carefully
separated from one another by cutting
through the gun with an axe, the particles
Of gum and flesh are removed with scrapers
and after being washed the bone is thor
Much Of the whalebone taken to-day is
landed at San Francisco, where the bone il
punched in bundles Of twenty-five slabs
each. weighing about eighty pounds. The
bone less han six feet long il considered
undersized and is sold at a lower price.
The biggest yield II bon by one bowhead
whale was that taken by the Mary and
Helen in 1883. when the cleanup yielded
800 pounds. worth in the neighbOrhOod Of
SIS. 900 at prevailing prices.
From the San Francisco storehOuses the
bone IN sent to New York and Boston fac
tories to be cut. All these factories are
small, employing mt the outside forty work
men.
Here the various processes Of trans
forming the rough into the finished product
are performed with a variety of hears and
cutting knives. When the wOrkmen are
through with it they have dress bone which
sells for $40 a pound. whip bone az W or 81
a pound, corset bones at $3.50 a pound and
other varieties at different prices. Even
the shavings are utilized. going to the up
hOlsterers.
The cost OF ~whalebOne has led to the
introduction Of many substitutes. u NJ
horn and rattan and thin strips Of steel
covered with rubber OF composition, and
necessarily these things have s~upplanted
zone in the cheaper grades OF corsets. But
bone occupies a place OF It's own for the
better trade, and as long as fashion DEGREES
stays so long probably will the New Bed
ford sailor a his chances Of getting caught
in the ice -tO the west'ard Of Pint Barrow"