Part 10

The advantages derived from the breeding of swine are very great. Their flesh, which has the appellation of _pork_, is in universal request; and is of peculiar importance in a commercial view, as it takes salt better, and is capable of being kept longer, than any other kind of meat that we are acquainted with. Pork, after having been salted, is sometimes hung up to dry in the open air; but, generally, it is smoked by being hung in a chimney. In this state it has the general name of _bacon_. What are called _hams_, are the thighs preserved in a similar manner. _Westphalia hams_ are generally made from such animals as have been well fed, and allowed to range at pleasure in the extensive moorlands of that province; and they have a singular flavour, not so much from any great difference that there is in the salting of them, as from their being smoked in chimneys where only wood fires are burnt. The time of fumigation is from three to six months, according to their size. Pork, though a wholesome food, requires a strong stomach to digest it properly; and ham and bacon are highly improper for persons of weak and languid habits. _Brawn_ is the flesh of the boar pickled in a peculiar manner, and is always better tasted according to the greater age of the animal of which it is made. After the boar is killed, the head and legs are cut off, and the bones are carefully taken from the remaining part. This, after having been properly salted, is rolled together as hard as possible. It is then boiled till it becomes so tender as to be pierced with a straw. It is afterwards set by till quite cold, and lastly is immersed in a pickle formed of salt and bran boiled together. The usual mode of curing pork is with common salt, or bay salt; but some persons add saltpetre or nitre, juniper berries, pepper, and other antiseptic substances.

The Jews and Mahometans abstain from this species of food from a religious principle, and even consider themselves defiled by touching it. The inhabitants of China, on the contrary, are so excessively fond of pork, that multitudes, from this partiality alone, are said to have been prevented from conversion to Mahometanism.

The _fat_ of swine differs, in its situation, from that of almost every other quadruped, as it covers the animals all over, and forms a thick, distinct, and continued layer betwixt the flesh and the skin, somewhat like the blubber in whales (118). It is called _lard_, and is applicable to various uses, both culinary and medicinal; and particularly to the composition of ointments. The general mode of preparation is to melt it in a jar placed in a kettle of water; and in this state to boil it, and run it into bladders that have been cleansed with great care. The smaller the bladders are the better the lard will keep. The fat which adheres to the parts connected with the intestines differs from common lard, and is preferably employed for the greasing of carriage wheels. The _blood_, the _feet_, and the _tongue_, are all adopted for food.

The _skin_, when properly dressed, is used for the seats of saddles; by book-binders, and other artisans.

In China hogs' skins are much in request by shoe-makers. All the shoes that are sold to Europeans at Canton are made of hogs' leather, the hair having previously been burnt off with a hot iron. In our own country, when swine are killed for food, it is not customary to strip off the skin, but merely to rid it of the bristles, by scalding the animals, after they are dead, with hot water, or singeing them with lighted straw. Consequently the hogs' skins which we use are chiefly imported from abroad. The _bristles_ of swine are made into brushes of various kinds, and are also employed by shoe-makers in the place of needles.

Among the other uses of swine, it may not generally be known that, in the island of Minorca, they are employed as beasts of draught. They are frequently yoked to the plough with asses; and one writer speaks of having seen a cow, a sow, and two young horses, all yoked together, and of these the sow drew the best. In some parts of Italy swine are used in hunting for truffles, an eatable species of fungus which grow at the depth of some inches in the ground. A cord being tied to the hind leg of one of these animals, the beast is driven into certain pastures; and we are told that truffles are always to be found wherever he stops and begins to turn up the earth with his nose.

Most writers have asserted that swine are long-lived, but few instances are allowed to occur of their attaining a great age; as it is neither profitable nor convenient to keep them to the full extent of their time. A gentleman in Hampshire kept a sow till she was nearly seventeen years old; and, at this period, she began to exhibit some signs of old age by the decay of her teeth, and ceasing to be so fertile as she had previously been. This animal afforded an instance of the extremely prolific nature of swine. She is calculated to have been the parent of no fewer than 300 young ones. The great weight to which swine are sometimes fed would appear altogether incredible had it not been well attested. In one instance a pig was known to weigh 1410 pounds when alive; and 1215 pounds when killed and dressed.

ORDER VII.--CETE, OR CETACEOUS ANIMALS.

117. _The NARWAL, or SEA-UNICORN_ (Monodon monoceros) _is a marine animal from twenty to thirty feet in length, with a long, tapering, twisted, and pointed weapon of ivory in front of the head._

_It has a small fin on each side of the breast, in place of fore feet, an horizontally flattened tail, and a spiracle or breathing hole on the highest part of the head. The skin is white, variegated with numerous black spots on the upper parts of the body; and the weapon is generally from five to eight feet in length._

_These animals are found in the Greenland seas, and they occasionally migrate southward off the British coasts. Their name of_ narh-wal _signifies a whale that subsists on dead bodies._

The Greenlanders pursue the narwals as they do other whales, chiefly on account of the _oil_ which they obtain from them. This is considered superior, in many respects, to the oil of the great whale (118), and is used by them both with food and to burn in their lamps. These people also eat the _flesh_ of the narwal prepared by fire, dried in a half putrid state, and sometimes even raw; and they are also partial to the _intestines_ as food. The _tendons_ serve them as a strong kind of thread. The projecting _weapon_, which is not a horn but a species of tusk, in its substance not much unlike the tusk of an elephant, is sometimes cut into the heads of arrows; and, in some parts of Greenland where wood is scarce, these weapons are occasionally used in the structure of tents and sledges. As ivory, they are not of much use, since, from their twisted form, they cut to great disadvantage. The kings of Denmark have, in the castle of Rosenberg, a throne formed of the tusks of the narwal.

It has of late years been ascertained that the Japanese have a very extraordinary opinion of the medical virtues of these tusks. A Dutch merchant, on his return to Europe, happened, among other curiosities, to transmit one of them to a friend in Japan, who by the sale of it became extremely rich. From that time the Dutch wrote, to their correspondents in Europe, for as many as could be sent, and great profit was made of them; and, although by the continued importation, the price has since been considerably diminished, it still continues very high.

Narwals are quick, active, and inoffensive animals. They swim with considerable velocity. When harpooned they dive in the same manner as the whale, but not so deep. They generally descend about two hundred fathoms, after which they return to the surface, where they are dispatched, in a few minutes, with a lance.

118. _The GREAT or GREENLAND WHALE_ (Balæna mysticetus, Pl. 1, Fig. 17) _is a marine animal of immense magnitude, measuring from fifty to eighty feet in length, of which the head is nearly one third, and having several horny blades in the upper jaw, and a spiracle or breathing hole on the upper part of the head._

_The bulk of these animals is such that their greatest circumference is nearly equal to their length; and their weight has been known to exceed 400,000 pounds. The mouth is of enormous size, extending as far back as to the eyes; and the tongue is sometimes eighteen or twenty feet in length, and nine or ten in width. Notwithstanding this, the_ gullet, _or passage of the throat, is seldom more than four or five inches across. The eyes are situated a little above the corners of the mouth, and are scarcely larger than those of an ox; and the external opening of the ears, which are merely auditory holes, is likewise very small. There is a large fin on each side of the breast, and the horizontally flattened tail-fin is equal to about one sixth part of the length of the animal. On the back there is neither fin nor protuberance. The skin is very thick and strong, entirely destitute of hair, and always covered with an oily substance which issues through the pores, and which, when exposed to the rays of the sun, makes the surface appear as resplendent as that of polished metal. Whales vary much in colour; some being entirely black, others reddish, or black above and white beneath, and others variously mottled with black or brown and white._

_The great whales are inhabitants of the ocean, and found chiefly in the Greenland and other seas, near the Arctic Pole; they, however, sometimes migrate so far south as to be seen in the neighbourhood of the British shores._

The animals of the whale tribe are of great use to mankind in a commercial view. They are pursued by the inhabitants of nearly all the maritime countries of Europe, and to us are not merely a source of profit, but, from the whale fishery requiring many ships, are the means of training a great number of seamen. To this fishery it is that we are indebted for those two valuable articles--_whale_ or _train oil_, and _whalebone_.

The fat of all the whales has the name of _blubber_, and is principally found beneath the skin, to the depth of ten or twelve inches. Its use, to the animals, appears to be for the double purpose of poising their bodies, and keeping off the immediate contact of the water from the flesh, the continued cold of which, in the frozen climates of the North, would tend to chill the blood. The _whalebone_ supplies, in these animals, the place of teeth, for catching and securing their food. It is attached to the upper jaw, and is arranged in thin plates or blades, sometimes near seven hundred in number, and parallel to each other on both sides of the mouth. The largest blades measure from ten to fifteen feet in length, and twelve or fifteen inches in width; and they all terminate in a kind of fringe of considerable length, which has the appearance of the blades split into innumerable small fibres. A large whale sometimes yields a ton and half of whalebone.

The number of ships employed in the whale fishery is very great; but, in consequence of the incessant pursuit of these animals for the last two centuries, their numbers have been greatly diminished. One of the most fortunate years that ever was known was 1697, when the following ships entered the bay of Greenland:

15 from Bremen, which had taken 190 50 from Hamburgh 515 121 from Holland 1252 ---- Total number of whales taken 1957 ----

The year 1814 was a singularly prosperous one to the British whale fishery: 76 ships, fitted out from different ports of this country, obtained 1437 whales, besides seals, &c. The British ships, during four years, ending with 1817, returned with 5030 whales, which produced 54,508 tons of oil, and 2697 tons of whalebone.

The season for the whale-fishery commences in May, and continues through the months of June and July; but the ships must come away before the end of August, otherwise they might be blocked up and destroyed by the ice.

Every ship sent out from this country carries along with it six or seven boats, each of which has one harpooner, one man at the rudder, one man to manage the line, and four men as rowers. In each boat there are also two or three harpoons, several spears, and about six lines, each 120 fathoms in length, fastened together. As soon as the men in the boats discover a whale, swimming near the surface of the water, they approach to the spot, and strike a harpoon deeply into his body. To this instrument the line is attached; and on the whale plunging into the water, this line is allowed to run out, great care being taken not only to prevent it from catching, lest the animal should overset the boat, but also (by continually wetting the place against which it runs) to prevent its rapid motion from setting fire to the wood. After a while the wounded animal is obliged to return to the surface to breathe. His direction is followed, and his re-appearance carefully marked. With great dexterity fresh wounds are inflicted, till, at length, he appears exhausted, when a long spear is thrust into his intestines, which soon destroys him. The whale is then dragged to the ship, and securely fastened to the side by ropes attached to the fins and tail. The blubber is cut out, in large square pieces, by men who get upon the animal, having their shoes armed with a kind of iron spurs to prevent their slipping. As soon as the blubber is taken on board the vessel, it is divided into smaller pieces, and thrown into the hold to drain.

The next operation is to extract the whalebone. This is done entire, along with the gums, which are hoisted on the deck, where the blades are cut and separated, and left until the men have leisure to scrape and clear them. The _tongue_ consists of a soft and spongy fat substance, which, when boiled down, yields five or six barrels of oil; the oil that is drained from the two upper jaw-bones is the peculiar perquisite of the captain. As an encouragement to the whale fishery, a bounty of twenty shillings is allowed by Government for every ton of blubber which is imported into this country.

From Milford, in Pembrokeshire, and some other British sea-ports, vessels are also fitted out for the South Seas, in pursuit of whales which frequent the ocean in those torrid climates, particularly near the coast of South America.

The inhabitants of Greenland, and of other northern countries of the world, eat almost every part of the whale. The _skin_, the _tail_, and the _fins_, are sometimes eaten even raw. The _flesh_ is eaten both fresh and dried. That of the young animals is of red colour; and, when cleared of fat, broiled and seasoned with pepper and salt, is said to eat not unlike coarse beef. That of an old whale appears black, and is exceedingly coarse and unpalatable. The Esquimaux, however, eat both the flesh and fat of the whale, and drink the oil with greediness. Indeed some of the tribes carry, in their canoes, bladders filled with whale oil, which they use in the same way, and with a similar relish, that a British sailor does a dram. They also eat the _skin_ of the whale raw. It is not unusual for female Esquimaux, when they visit whale ships, to select for eating, pieces of skin to which a portion of blubber is attached. They also give it for food to the infants suspended at their backs, who suck it with great apparent delight. The _heart_ of a young whale which was caught in the year 1793, and measured fifteen feet in length, is said by Captain Colnett to have afforded a delicious repast to his ship's crew. Of the _intestines_ of the whale the Greenlanders prepare a substance which serves instead of glass for their windows. They make fishing-lines of the _filaments_ which terminate the blades of whalebone; and in many countries, the ribs and other large _bones_ supply the place of timber, in the construction of houses, and as fences to surround gardens and fields. The smaller bones are converted into harpoons and spears. The _tendons_ are split into filaments, and used as cordage, and for nets of various kinds. With the Esquimaux some of the membranes of the abdomen are used for an upper article of clothing; and the thinnest and most transparent of them are adopted, instead of glass, in the windows of their huts. The _blubber_ of the whale, when pickled and boiled, is said to be very palatable; and the _tail_, when parboiled and fried, is often adopted in the Greenland ships as food. The blubber, when in a fresh state, is destitute of any unpleasant smell: indeed it is not until the termination of the voyage, when the cargo is unstowed, that a Greenland ship becomes disagreeable. The use of the _whalebone_ in our own country is well known; but, since ladies have left off wearing stays, it is at present comparatively in little demand. By a late invention it is manufactured into hats, bonnets, and brushes.

Whales are sometimes seen in troops sporting about near the surface of the ocean. They spout water through the spiracles on the top of their heads, with the rushing noise of a cataract, and to the height even of thirty or forty feet. Such are their powers in the water that, in some instances, their motion through that element has been calculated at thirty feet in a second, or upwards of twenty miles in an hour. Great caution is required in attacking them, as, with a single blow of their tail, they are able to upset a tolerably large boat. They feed only on the smaller kinds of fish and other marine animals, as their throat is not sufficiently wide to admit of their swallowing any substance of large size, and they are not furnished with teeth to cut or grind their food into small pieces. The females produce only one young one each: this they suckle for many months, and are peculiarly affectionate and attentive towards it.

These animals are occasionally stranded on the British shores, in which case, by the ancient laws of the land, they are deemed royal fish; the king being entitled to the anterior, and the queen to the posterior half.

119. _The FIN-BACKED WHALE, or FIN-FISH_ (Balæna physalus), _is a marine animal from sixty to ninety feet in length, with a thick fin on the hinder part of the back, the muzzle tapering, and the jaws somewhat pointed._

_This species is of more slender form than the last, its greatest circumference not in general exceeding fifteen or twenty feet. The spiracle or breathing hole is double, and situated on the middle of the fore part of the head; and the colour of the body is generally dark or blackish olive above, and white below. The whole surface appears polished and shining._

_These whales are chiefly found in the northern frozen ocean, and particularly about the coast of Greenland and Spitzbergen. But they sometimes enter the Mediterranean, and are not uncommon in the South American and Indian seas._

Although a smaller proportion of _oil_ is obtained from these than from the great whales, it is of much better quality than that. The inhabitants of Greenland consume it with their food, preferably to burning it in lamps, if oil of less value can be obtained for that purpose. The _whalebone_ is too short and narrow to be of much value. From the small quantity of oil, and little value of the whalebone, added to the difficulty and danger which are attendant on the pursuit of these active and powerful animals, they are not very eagerly sought after by the whale-fishers.

We are assured that the _flesh_ of the fin-backed whale is as well tasted, and, in every respect, as excellent, as that of the sturgeon. In most of the northern countries, both of Europe and America, the _fins_, the _skin_, and the _tendons_, all serve for many useful purposes.

There are other species of whales which are useful, in a certain degree, to mankind, for the oil that is yielded by their bodies; but few of them are objects of pursuit, on account of the difficulty there is in killing them, or of the very inferior quantity of oil which they afford. The blades of their whalebone are also too small to be of any use as an object of commerce.

120. _The BLUNT-HEADED CACHALOT, or SPERMACETI WHALE_ (Physeter macrocephalus) _is a marine animal from sixty to seventy feet in length, with large teeth in the under jaw, which fit into corresponding sockets of the upper jaw; the orifice of the spiracle single, and at the upper part of the extremity of the muzzle; and without any fin upon the back._

_The head occupies about one-third of the length of the whole body. The colour of this whale is generally black, but, in the old animals, the under parts become whitish. The skin is smooth, oily, and almost as soft to the touch as silk._

_It is most frequently seen in the northern ocean, in the latitudes of Greenland, Spitzbergen, and Iceland; yet it is occasionally observed off the British coasts, and sometimes even in the Mediterranean._

Lucrative as the several parts of these animals are, the whale-fishers have a great dread of them, in consequence of their astonishing activity in the water. Much care is requisite, in striking the harpoon, to keep the boats out of danger of being overturned, and great dexterity in following their track. From the relation given by the Danish voyagers Olafsen and Povelsen, it would appear that the spermaceti whales become occasionally so ferocious as even to seize the fishing boats with their teeth, and, in an instant, to destroy the whole crew. Notwithstanding all these dangers, so highly valued are they that they are searched for with much assiduity: and happy are the owners of those vessels which can obtain the greatest number of them.

The _oil_ that is obtained from them is not in great quantity, but is of excellent quality. In burning it yields a bright flame, without exhaling any noxious smell.

The white and fatty substance known in our shops by the name of _spermaceti_ is found in an immense cavity of the skull, distinct from that which contains the brain. This sometimes occupies nearly the whole front and upper part of the head, and, in some instances, is known to measure sixteen or eighteen feet in length. It is divided horizontally into two parts by a strong membrane, and each of these parts is again subdivided, by vertical membranes, into numerous cells, which communicate with each other, and contain the spermaceti. This, which is frequently mistaken for the brain, is sometimes found in such quantity as to fill eighteen or twenty butts. Whilst the animals are alive, the spermaceti is in a fluid state; but, when dead, it is found in somewhat solid lumps, and is of whitish colour. Spermaceti is of considerable use, medicinally, in pains and erosions of the intestines, in coughs, and other complaints. It is also applied externally in ointments, and for other purposes. It is converted into a very beautiful kind of candles, which appear to be a medium between those made of wax and tallow. Good spermaceti is in fine white flakes, glossy, and semi-transparent, soft, and unctuous to the touch, yet dry and easily friable, in taste somewhat like butter, and of faint smell, not much unlike that of tallow. If exposed to the air, it soon becomes rancid and yellow. Its quality and colour may however be recovered by steeping it in alkaline liquors, or in a sufficient quantity of spirit of wine.