Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/562

Rh 526 specialized form, have not been found older than the Pliocene ; and it is interesting to note that, instead of the individuals diminish ing in bulk as we approach the times we live in, as with many other groups of animals, the contrary has been the case, no known extinct species of whale equalling in size those that are now to be met with in the ocean. The size of whales, as of all other things whose most striking attribute is magnitude, has been greatly ex aggerated ; but, when reduced to the limits of sober fact, the Green land right whale of 50 feet long, the sperm whale of 60, and the great northern rorqual (Bal&noptcra sibbaldii] of 80 exceed all other organic structures known, past or present. Instead of living iu an age of degeneracy of physical growth, we are in an age of giants, but, it may be, at the end of that age. Through countless ages of time whales have been gradually shaped into their present wonderful form and gigantic size ; but the very perfection of their structure and their magnitude combined, the rich supply of oil protecting their internal parts from cold, the beautiful apparatus of whalebone by which their nutrition is provided for, have been fatal gifts, which, under the sudden revolution produced on the surface of the globe by the development of the wants and arts of civilized man, cannot but lead to their extinction in the not far future, (W. H. F.) WHALE FISHERIES. Commercially these may be conveniently classified under three heads, the British, the American, and the Norwegian. The im plements used, and the mpde of capture of the different kinds of whales, being for the most part the same in all cases, the detailed account given below may be held to be of general application, unless the contrary is expressly stated. Whaler. The whaler is a vessel of from 400 to 500 tons gross register, rigged either as a ship or a barque, and provided with auxiliary engines of some 75 horse-power. Built after the strongest fashion, she is protected along the water-line by an additional planking of iron bark, an Australian wood of great hardness ; the bows are strengthened inside by beams and knees and outside by plates of iron. Underneath the hold-beams about 50 iron tanks are fitted, each capable of containing 200 to 250 tons of oil ; above the hold- beams a deck is laid, engine and boiler space being reserved in the stern. A vessel of this description carries 8 whale-boats, and is manned by 50 to 60 hands all told. Her working expenses at sea, exclusive of insurance and interest on capital, are about 500 per month, and her cost as she leaves the builder s hands, sup plied with all appurtenances, but exclusive of sea stores, is about Whale- 17,500. The ichale-boat is 27 feet in length and 6 feet in breadth, boat. with a depth amidships of 2 feet 6 inches. The bow is covered in for the distance of a few feet, forming a sort of platform, through which there project two wooden posts, that farthest forward being called the &quot;gun-bollard head,&quot; on which the harpoon gun is mounted, while round the other, farther aft, the whale-line is run. At the stem, between the &quot;head boards,&quot; a pulley is sunk, over which the whale-line glides. On the port bow, beside the gun- bollard head, a small tub is fitted, into which is coiled that part of the whale-line known as the &quot; foregoer. &quot; The after-part of the boat, as well as a part amidships, is fitted up for the reception of the whale-line. The whale-boat is manned by five oarsmen and a boat-steerer. The bow oar acts as harpooner and has charge of the boat; the stroke oar is &quot;line-manager&quot; and watches the whale- Harpoon line while it is running. The harpoon gun, now almost univer- gun. sally used, measures 4 feet 6 inches in length and weighs 75 R&amp;gt; ; the barrel is 3 feet long with IJj inches bore and is mounted in a wooden stock, tapering behind into a pistol handle. The weapon is fired by means of percussion caps, doghead, and trigger-line, the nipples being protected from sea spray by a movable brass cover. Mounted in a swivel on the gun-bollard head, the harpoon gun from its elevated position commands both bows as well as right ahead ; and with a charge of 11 drachms of powder it projects the liar- harpoon with force and precision to a distance of 25 yards. Har- poons. poons are of two kinds, known respectively as gun and hand harpoons ; the former are used as weapons of attack, the latter to assist in securing a whale that is already harpooned. The gun harpoon measures 4 feet in length and weighs 12 lb. The &quot; shank,&quot; or that part which enters the gun, is perforated throughout its length by an elongated slit, so as to allow the &quot; shackle &quot; connecting the harpoon with the line to remain outside the mouth of the gun when the shank is inserted in the barrel. AVhen the gun is fired, the shackle travels along the slit until it is brought up by the butt, where the two rods of which the shank is composed unite, and after that the line is drawn out by the harpoon. The head of the harpoon is triangular and flattened, the two sides being con tinued backwards to form the barbs, which may be movable or fixed. When movable, they are attached to the head by steel pins, and previous to being fired fold backwards and lie parallel to the shank ; the weapon having pierced a whale, and the strain on the whale-line causing it to retract, the barbs spread out and assume a transverse position, so as greatly to impede the withdrawal of the instrument. The hand lia/yoon is a light and efficient weapon, which was introduced by the Americans, by whom it is known as a &quot;toggle iron.&quot; It consists of a head and shank of iron, and is mounted on a wooden stock, by which it is darted. The head, a flattened piece of steel, somewhat triangular in form, is connected with the extremity of the shank by a steel pin, on which it pivots and moves freely. Previous to use the head folds back along the shank, in which position it is retained by a wooden pin. After the weapon has been darted into a whale, the strain on the line breaks the wooden pin, and the head assumes a position at right angles to the shank, somewhat in the form of the letter T, and becomes transfixed in the fibrous tissue under the blubber. The shank is a rod of ^-inch iron, 2 feet 6 inches long, expanding at its upper extremity to form a socket to receive the wooden stock. The hand harpoon measures 8 feet in length, and, exclusive of the line, weighs 10 lb. Expert harpooners can dart the weapon about 5 yards with considerable force and accuracy. Whale-line Whale- is three-stranded rope, 2| inches in circumference, composed of the line, finest hemp, 32 yarns per strand ; 600 fathoms are coiled into each whale-boat. The line is joined to the harpoon by the &quot;foregoer,&quot; a piece of rope somewhat lighter and more pliable than whale-line. The foregoer being the only part of the line drawn out by the harpoon while in flight, its length, usually from 10 to 12 fathoms, regulates the distance the harpoon may be fired. The whale-lance Whalo- consists of a simple rod of o-inch iron, 6 feet long, one end flattened lance, to form a small lance-shaped point with cutting edges, the other expanding to form a socket to receive a short wooden handle. Gun lances, bomb lances, and exploding harpoons of various forms and devices have from time to time been introduced ; but, mainly from the fact that in recent years the difficulty in securing a cargo lies not so much in effecting the capture of the animal as in discover ing its whereabouts, and in approaching sufficiently near to permit the use of the harpoon, they have never come into general use. Whether the ship is cruising amongst loose ice under canvas Whale- or lying &quot;made fast&quot; to a floe, a careful look-out is kept on board hunting from the crow s nest (a barrel lashed to the main-top-gallant mast head) as well as from the deck. Immediately on a whale being seen, boats are manned and sent in pursuit. If the animal is feeding, which it generally does when near the surface by swimming back wards and forwards horizontally round an ellipse, great caution is necessary to prevent its becoming aware of the approach of the boats. On the other hand, if the whale is &quot;spanning,&quot; i.e., swim ming in a decided direction and appearing at the surface at in tervals more or less regular, less caution is observed. In either case as well as under less usual circumstances the whale-boat, endeavouring to keep out of the angle of vision of the animal, approaches it from behind, swiftly but quietly ; the harpooner rises to his gun and points it at the animal s back, withholding his fire, however, until within as short a distance as possible. On being harpooned the Greenland right whale usually dives per pendicularly, remaining under water about forty minutes and drawing out some 600 to 700 fathoms of line before it returns to the surface. Whales descend with such velocity that they have been known to break their upper jaw by coming into violent con tact with the bottom even in 400 fathoms of water. Before the animal has returned to the surface other boats have arrived upon the scene, and, on the reappearance of the whale, give chase and attach more harpoons. Again the whale dives, but soon returns to the surface, still more exhausted. Whenever its motions become sufficiently slow to permit the approach of the boats, the lance is used, a few thrusts in the region of the heart or lungs being speedily fatal. Quantities of blood are thrown up by the spiracles ; tlio animal lashes the water with its fins, and, after rushing violently through the water in its dying agony, rolls over on its side and lies stiff and rigid at the surface. Under favourable circumstances the capture of a full-grown whale from the time of first harpooning until its death occupies from one to one and a half hours. The operation of flensing is next performed. The body of the whale is lashed lengthwise alongside the ship with its under surface above water; the &quot;cant-purchase,&quot; a powerful tackle, is then attached to the commencement of a transverse slip of blubber cut at the neck, known as the &quot;cant-piece.&quot; By means of the cant-purchase the body is caused to rotate, whilst the fat is removed from the different parts as they appear above water in large &quot;slips&quot; or &quot; blanket -pieces,&quot; each a ton or more in weight. After being received on deck, the blubber is cut into pieces about a foot square and stowed into the &quot; tween-decks. &quot; The whalebone is removed from each side of the upper jaw as it appears above water en bloc. The process of &quot;cutting-in&quot; occupies the ship s company about three hours. The only subsequent operations are the cutting up of the blubber into small pieces and its stowage in the oil tanks. The removal of the gum from the whalebone, the separation of the plates, and their stowage in the tAveen decks are operations per formed subsequently. British Fisheries. Greenland Eight Whale. The Greenland right whale (Balxna Green- mysticetus) is found amongst, or in the near vicinity of, the Polar land fish- ice. Its habitat, however, is materially reduced in extent by the ing.