Evening star., 1928-05-06
DEPLORE Staying
OF WHALE FAMILY
American MammaIogists Re-
port Destruction of Animals
Is Rapidly Increasing.

Save the whalel" Is the demand of
American mammalogiSts who recently
met here
The annual whale kill increased from
ll,400 in 1921 to 25.s00 whales in 1927.
The largest of mammals may be as rare
as The buffalo, the msmmslogiStS fear.
unless more freedom OF the seas in some
manner can be- extended 10 the hunted
whale.
The coming OF tn, Kerosene lamp
the gas mantle. the electric light and
the defation Of women'S dresses gave
the whale IS years respite from
hunters" says s bulletin from the Ma
honal Geographic Society, "but the
worlds Increasing demand for soap has
been its un6ong.
Soap makers and machiniSts who
require oil for their most delicate
devices pay the money that sends ships
snd men into the Antarctic seas for
whales today. A Norwegian whaler
which recently arrived in New York
had no dificulty in diSpoSing Of $4,000
barrels Of oil. the yield from 500 whales,
Hint TO Scientists.
Probably scientists realized an obli-
cation TO save the whale, Their
scholarly predecessors promoted the
destruction of whales for their oil
Ost tflS6 SfEOASES OltilSO WGS
whale oil. Darwin must have worked
over his voluminouS notes by the light
OF whale OIL Kepler Newton Faraday
and certainly Linnaeus, while b. was
trying to classify the whale as a FISH
ar a mammal. probably worked by the
fickering illumination supplied by
whales from the coasts of Greenland.
The lamps in which the oil was burned
Tow bring good prices in antique shops.
The geography OF whaling has
ehifted. Until the BaSaues practically
eSterminsted them. one species of
whale was numerous in the Bay of
Biscay, Discoveries by EliEabethan
mariners sent whaling fiests to Spitz-
bergen and west 10 Greenland About
the hrst quarter OF the last century the
industry reached the peak of It's
development. when New Bedford. in the
United States. and Dundee, in England.
reeked of whales and the profits from
whales.
When the Greenland or Bowhead
whale-So called because its head is
shaped like the blunt bow of a ship
became scarce, whalers turned their
attention to the sperm whale. Great
numbers OF this variety inhabit Antarc-
tic waters. 50 British, American and
Norwegian ships went south on weary
tnree-year voyages
In the South Atlantic lives the blue
whale. largest of its kind. attaining q
length OF more than 100 feet Young
whales have been known TO attain q
length Of 30 feet before being weaned
by the mother whale The blue whale is
also king CT its race and more than a
match tor hand harpoon. Its fero-
ciousness provided the inspiration for
'hfcey Dick Like the albino terror OF
NefEflszsG eh= 49, l.
Nin charge his pursuerS and crush q
boat like an e9vShea But the harnoon
gun has mace even the blue whale
almost as harmless quarry ss rabbit
ne great mammal must swim fast 10
ave lis skin and the three tons of
whale OIL which whaiers covei
Mammoth Mouth Filled with Oil.
The sperm whale has large cavity
" Is head filed with sperm oil Un-
Ike lis Greenland cousin the sperm
whale feeds on large ocean denizens. |
pursuing IN octopus for q main course /
en9 consuming q 5-foot fish for dessert !
Although the Greenland whale possesses
csEeTnous mouth in which Herman
Melville said four people could play AT
csrcs. i lives on minute sea life which
g2i caught on the 'whiskers' 1t wears in
cna roof of its moutf--the same
minister's that supply wa1alebone The
throat Of the Greenland whale. small
because It's food is minute sea life. pro-
ouced religious doubts among the New
England whaieTs How could Jonah
get through such hole?' they asked
whale would choke on a glass
tumhseT!
Soon after the sperm oil has been
removed from the head Of a sparn
whale Il solsdihes. The fine oil squeezed
from the mass remaining is the sperm
Oh Of commerce which is used for
watches and sewing machines In old
Gays the sperm taiiow vas nodded into
the most expensive Of candles"