soon diminished the number, and increased the caution of the animals, and as they had to be sought farther from the coast, the establishments for boiling were given up, and, since that time, the blubber is brought home in its crude state, to be manufactured.
In 1820, a very successful year, when, too, the Whale fishery was in the height of its pursuit, Great Britain had 159 ships engaged, 57 of which resorted to Davis's Straits, and 102 to the sea of East Greenland. The amount of tonnage was 50,546. The number of Whales taken was 1595, producing 18,745 tuns of oil, and 946 tons of baleen. In 1884, but 7 British ships were in the Greenland Sea, and 69 in Davis's Straits, making 76 in all engaged, whose united tonnage was 24,955: 872 Whales were procured, yielding 8214 tuns of oil, and 442 tons of baleen. The average price of whale-oil may be about £29 per tun, and that of baleen £163 per ton. Of the ships engaged in the whale-fishery, by far the greater proportion are fitted out from Hull, this port and Peterhead furnishing fully half of the whole: the remainder are distributed among ten other ports, all, with the exception of London, situated either in Northumberland or Scotland.
