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National Geographic : 1908 Dec
Contents
THE PRODUCTION OF WHALEBONE THE LATE DANIEL C. GILMAN M EiMBERS of the National Geo graphic Society and every person interested in geographic science will long remember the late Daniel C. Gilman for the leading part he has taken in geo graphical education and geographical work during the past fifty years. The first prominent position which Dr Gilman held was the 'chair of physical and polit ical geography in Sheffield Scientific School from 1856 to 1872. He then ac quired that liking and appreciation for the study of geography which character ized his professional career. As President of the University of Cali fornia, of Johns Hopkins University, and later of the Carnegie Institution, as au thor and again as editor-in-chief of the magnificent New International Encyclo pedia, he always recognized the great importance of geographical research. Dr Gilman was one of the earliest mem bers of the National Geographic Society and often addressed its meetings, and has always been actively identified with its work. The Society owes much to his kindly, encouraging, and broad-minded counsel freely given during 20 years. THEPRODUCTION OFWHALEBONE* IN the early days of the whale fishery the valuable qualities of whale bone were not well known, and com paratively little of the product was saved. The first importation into Eng land is supposed to have been in the year 1594, when a quantity was picked up among the wreckage of a Biscayan ship. An idea of the decrease in the supply of whalebone and the corresponding in crease in value can be gathered when it is shown from statistics that in 1853 the total production in the United States was 5,652,300 pounds and the average value per pound thirty-five cents, while in 1906 the entire production was about 96,600 pounds, which sold at an average of $4.50 per pound! *Consult "Whalebone: Its Production and Utilization," by Charles H. Stevenson. Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 626. Of the whalebone taken by American vessels during the last twenty-five years, more than 90 per cent. has been secured in the Arctic Ocean, and the remainder mainly in Hudson Bay and in the Atlan tic. The total product landed from the American fisheries during the nineteenth century exceeded 90,oo,o000 pounds, worth about $450,000,000 at the present market valuation. The garniture of the mouth of the whalebone whales is totally different from that of the sperm whale. Instead of teeth, there is a strainer-like appen dage called baleen, or whalebone, con sisting of several hundred horny, elastic slabs or plates, which are attached to each side of the upper jaw. The num ber of slabs on each side ranges from 260 to 360. This number, as well as the length and quality, varies with the spe cies and the size of the whale. The longest slabs are in the middle of each side, and they gradually decrease in length toward the ends of the jaw. When the whale's mouth is closed, the baleen fits into deep grooves; when the mouth is opened, the baleen springs for ward so as to fill entirely the space be tween the jaws, permitting the water to pass through, but imprisoning the small mollusks upon which the animal feeds. The lower edge of each slab of baleen, as it hangs from the upper jaw, is fringed' with hair which resembles that of a horse's mane or tail, but is coarser and more brittle when dry. The exter nal surface of the slabs has the appear ance of enamel; the interior is fibrous and partakes of the nature of the hair like fringe. The material is regarded as a peculiar development of hair, each slab an ag glomeration of hairs covered with en amel, and it is particularly interesting as indicating the transition from hair to horn. The several species of bone-bearing whales yield baleen differing much in quantity, length, and quality. The choic est is from the bowhead of the Arctic Seas, yielding from 1,500 to 3,000 pounds each, the right-whale ranking 883
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