Popular Technology Volume I Part 15

50. The blubber is somewhat similar, in consistence, to the fat which surrounds the body of the hog, although not quite so solid. In young whales, its color is yellowish white; and, in old ones, yellow or red.

Its thickness varies in different parts and in different individuals, from eight to twenty inches. The weight of a whale sixty feet in length, is about seventy tons, of which the blubber weighs about thirty tons.

51. The whale-bone is situated in the mouth. About three hundred laminae, or blades, grow parallel to each other on either side of the upper jaw, being about half an inch thick, and ten or twelve inches wide, where they are united by the gum. As the whale grows old, they increase in length, and approach from each side to the roof of the mouth. The whale, while feeding, swims with his mouth wide open, which admits a great quant.i.ty of water containing insects or small fish, on which he subsists. The whale-bone acts as a filter, or strainer, in retaining the little animals, while the water pa.s.ses off at the corners of the mouth.

52. Before the whalers leave the fishing station, they cut the blubber into small pieces, and put it into close casks. Sometimes, however, when the ship has been very successful, there is a deficiency of casks. In that case, it is slightly salted, and packed away in the hold. But, as the ship must necessarily pa.s.s through a warmer climate, on her voyage homeward, the blubber, while packed in this manner, is liable to melt and be wasted, unless the weather should prove uncommonly cool.

53. When the vessel has arrived in port, the blubber is found to be melted. To separate the oil from the _fritters_, or _fenks_, as the integuments and other impurities are called, the contents of the casks are poured into copper boilers, and heated. The heat causes a part of the latter to sink to the bottom, and the former is drawn off into coolers, where other extraneous matters settle. The pure or fine oil is then drawn off for sale. An inferior quality of oil, called _brown oil_, is obtained from the dregs of the blubber.

54. The spermaceti cachalot, or _Physeter Macrocephalus_, is an animal belonging to the norwal genus; although it is generally denominated the spermaceti whale. It is found in the greatest abundance in the Pacific Ocean, where it is sought by American and other whalers, for the sake of the oil and spermaceti. This animal is gregarious, and is often met with in herds containing more than two hundred individuals.

55. Whenever a number of the cachalot are seen, several boats, manned each with six men provided with harpoons and lances, proceed in pursuit; and, if possible, each boat strikes or fastens to a distinct animal, which, in most cases, is overcome without much difficulty.

Being towed to the ship, it is deprived of its blubber, and the matter contained in the head, which consists of spermaceti combined with a small proportion of oil. The oil is reduced from the blubber, soon after it has been taken on board, in "try works," with which every ship engaged in this fishery is provided.

56. About three tons of oil are commonly obtained from a large cachalot of this species, and from one to two tons from a small one, besides the head-matter. The manner in which these two products are treated, when brought into port, has been described in the article on candle-making.

57. The Biscayans were the first people who prosecuted the whale fishery, as a commercial pursuit. In the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries, they carried on this business to a considerable extent; but the whales taken by them were not so large as those which have since been captured in the polar seas. At length, the whales ceased to visit the Bay of Biscay, and the fishery in that quarter was of course terminated.

58. The voyages of the English and Dutch to the Northern Ocean, in search of a pa.s.sage to India, led to the discovery of the princ.i.p.al haunts of the whale, and induced individuals in those nations to fit out vessels to pursue these animals in the northern lat.i.tudes, the harpooners and part of the crews being Biscayans. The whales were found in the greatest abundance about the island of Spitzbergen, and were, at first, so easily captured, that extra vessels were sent out in ballast, to a.s.sist in bringing home the oil and whalebone; but the whales, retiring to the centre of the ocean, and to the other side to the Greenland seas, soon became scarce about that island.

59. The whale fishery was revived, as above stated, about the beginning of the seventeenth century; and, with the Dutch, it was in the most flourishing condition in 1680, when it employed about two hundred and sixty ships, and fourteen thousand men. The wars about the beginning of the nineteenth century, extending their baleful influence to almost every part of the ocean, annihilated this branch of business among the Dutch; and, in 1828, only a single whale-ship sailed from Holland.

60. The English whale fishery was, at first, carried on by companies enjoying exclusive privileges; but the pursuit was attended with little success. In 1732, Parliament decreed a bounty of twenty shillings per ton, on every whaler measuring more than two hundred tons; and, although this bounty was increased in 1749 to forty shillings, yet the English whale fishery has never been very flourishing.

61. The whale fishery has been carried on with greater success from the United States than from any other country. It was begun by the colonists, on their own sh.o.r.es, at a very early period; but the whales having abandoned the coasts of North America, these hardy navigators pursued them into the northern and southern oceans.

62. The number of American vessels now employed in pursuit of the spermaceti cachalot and the mystecetus, amounts to about four hundred, and the number of men to about ten thousand. The inhabitants of the island of Nantucket, and of the town of New-Bedford, are more extensively engaged in these fisheries than the people of any other part of the United States.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SHIPWRIGHT.]

THE SHIPWRIGHT.

1. The earliest notice we have of the construction of a building to float on water, is that which relates to Noah's Ark. This was the largest vessel that has ever been built, and the circ.u.mstance proves that the arts, at that early period, had been brought to considerable perfection; yet, as several centuries had elapsed, after the flood, before the descendants of Noah had much occasion for floating vessels, the art of constructing them seems to have been measurably lost.

2. Early records, which perhaps are worthy of credit, state that the Egyptians first traversed the river Nile upon rafts, then in the canoe; and that, to these succeeded the boat, built with joist, fastened together with wooden pins, and rendered water-tight by interposing the leaves of the papyrus. To this boat was, at length, added a mast of acanthus, and a sail of papyrus; but, being prejudiced against the sea because it swallowed up their sacred river, which they worshipped as a G.o.d, they never attempted to construct vessels adapted to marine navigation.

3. The Phoenicians, a nation nearly as ancient as the Egyptian, being situated directly on the sea, without the advantages of a n.o.ble river, were compelled to provide means for sailing on a wider expanse of water. It is said, however, that they first traversed the Mediterranean, and even visited distant islands, with no better means of conveyance than a raft of timber. This is rendered somewhat probable, from the fact, that the Peruvians, even at the present time, venture upon the Pacific Ocean on their _balza_, a raft made from a spongy tree of that name.

4. The vessels first constructed by the Phoenicians, were used for commercial purposes. They were flat-bottomed, broad, and of a small draught; and those of the Carthaginians and Greeks were similar in shape. The ships of war, in early times, were generally mere row-boats, in which the combatants rushed upon each other, and decided the combat by valor and physical strength.

5. By successive improvements, the ships of antiquity were, at length, brought to combine good proportion with considerable beauty. The prows were sometimes ornamented with the sculptured figures of heathen deities, and otherwise adorned with paint and gilding, while the sterns, which were usually in the form of a shield, were elaborately wrought in carved work. The approved length of a ship of war, was six or eight times its breadth; and that for mercantile purposes, four times the breadth; hence, the distinction of _long ships_, and _round ships_.

6. Both the long and round ships had a single mast, which could be taken down or elevated at pleasure. These vessels were, however, propelled with oars on occasions that required it; and the former, in their improved state, were properly galleys with one, two, or three banks of oars, which extended from one end of the vessel to the other.

The rowers were all placed under the deck; and, in time of battle, the combatants contended above, being in part defended from the missiles of opposing foes by shields carried on the arm, and by screens and towers placed on the deck. The bow of each vessel was armed with a brazen or iron beak, with which the contending parties often stove in the sides of each other's vessels.

7. The general size of vessels in the best days of antiquity, was not greater than that of our sloops and schooners; but there are instances on record, which prove that they occasionally equalled in capacity the largest of modern times. In the early ages, they were very small, and, for several centuries, were drawn upon the sh.o.r.e at the termination of every voyage. Stranding, however, became impracticable, after the increase in size, and the addition of the keel. The anchor and cable were, therefore, invented, to confine the ship at a suitable distance from the sh.o.r.e. At first, the anchor was nothing more than a large stone. Afterwards, it was wood and stone combined; and, finally, iron was the sole material.

8. The invasion of the Roman empire by the northern barbarians, caused the operations of war to be almost exclusively conducted on the land.

This, together with the destruction of commerce during the general desolation of those ruthless incursions, and the barbarism of the conquerors, occasioned a retrogression, and, in some parts of Europe, nearly the total destruction of the art of building ships.

9. The active trade which arose in the Mediterranean, during the middle ages, and the naval enterprises connected with the Crusades, occasioned a revival of the art of constructing ships; yet, it did not advance beyond the condition in which the Carthaginians had left it, until about the middle of the fourteenth century. At this era, the inconsiderable galleys of former times began to be superseded by larger vessels, in which, however, oars were not entirely dispensed with.

10. The great change in the general construction of vessels, arose from the discovery of the polarity of the magnet, and the application of astronomy to nautical pursuits; for, by these means, the mariner was released from his dependence on the sight of the land, in guiding his vessel on its course. Larger ships were therefore constructed, capable of withstanding more violent storms and loftier waves.

11. To the Italians, Catalans, and Portuguese, was ship-building most considerably indebted, in the early days of its revival. The Spaniards followed up their discovery of the New World with a rapid improvement in both the form and size of their ships; some of which even rated at two thousand tons burden. In more modern times, it is said, that the Spaniards and French are ent.i.tled to the credit of nearly all the improvements which have been made in the theory of the art, the English having never contributed essentially to advance it, although the greatest naval power of this or any other time.

12. In the United States, very great improvements have been made in the construction of vessels, since the commencement of the present century. Our builders, however, are less guided by scientific rules than by experience and a practised eye; yet, it is generally conceded, that our ships of war and first-rate merchantmen, are superior in swiftness and beauty to those of any other country.

13. In Europe, the first thing done towards building a vessel, is to exhibit it in three distinct views by as many separate drawings; but, in the United States, the builder commences by framing a complete wooden model of the proposed construction--the thing itself in miniature. From this practice of our naval architects, have arisen the superior beauty and excellence of our vessels.

14. The timber generally used in the construction of American vessels, is live-oak, pine, chestnut, locust, and cedar. The trees of mature growth are chosen, and girdled in the beginning of winter, at which time they contain but little sap. When sufficiently dry and hardened, the trees are felled; and, after the timber has been roughly hewn, it is carefully stored in some dry, airy place, not much exposed to wind or sun.

15. In collecting ship-timber, the greatest difficulty is found in procuring the crooked sticks, which form the sides or ribs of the skeleton of a vessel. In countries where ship-timber has become an object of careful cultivation, this difficulty is antic.i.p.ated by bending the young trees to the desired form, and confining them there, until they have permanently received the proper inclination. The timber is brought to market in its rough state, and sold by the foot.

16. The timber having been selected, the workmen proceed to fashion the various parts of the proposed vessel with appropriate tools, being guided in their operations by patterns, which have been made after the exact form of the various parts of the model. Much care is taken to avoid cutting the wood contrary to the grain, that its strength may not be impaired.

17. After all the parts of the frame have been made ready, they are put together. The several blocks of timber on which the vessel is raised, are called the _stocks_; and to these pieces, the foundation, called the _keel_, is temporarily fastened in an inclined position.

The keel is inserted into the _stern-post_ at one end, and into the _stem_ at the other. The _floor-timbers_ are next fixed in the keel, every other one being there firmly bolted and riveted. Each of these timbers is a branch and part of the body of a tree; and, when composing a part of a vessel, they bear the same relation to it as the ribs to the human body. With equal propriety, the keel has been compared to the vertebral column, or back-bone.

18. The next step is to apply and fasten the planks, which serve not only to exclude the water, but to bind all the parts firmly and harmoniously together. Simple as this part of the operation may seem to be, it is the most difficult to be effected, and requires a pre-concerted plan as much as any other part of the fabric. When it is necessary to bend a plank at the bow or stern, it is heated by steam, and then forced into place with screws and levers. The planks are fastened with iron or copper bolts.

19. The planking having been finished, and several particulars attended to, which cannot be well understood from description, the vessel is ready for the work of the _caulker_, who carefully stops all the seams with oak.u.m, and smears them with pitch. After the superfluous pitch has been cleared away with the _sc.r.a.per_, water is pumped into the hold, to ascertain if there is any leak.

20. The bottom of the vessel is next sheathed either with sheets of copper or pine boards, to protect it from the worms. The latter materials are employed when the planks have been fastened with iron since the copper would cause the bolt-heads to corrode, if placed against them. In either case, sheets of paper, soaked in hot pitch, are interposed between the planks and the sheathing.

21. The vessel is now ready to be removed from the stocks to the water. This removal is called _launching_, which, in many cases, requires much skill in the preparation and successive management. If there is no permanent inclined plane in the slip, on which the vessel may glide into the water, a temporary one is prepared, consisting of two platforms of solid timber, erected one on each side of the keel, at a distance of a few feet from it, and extending from the stem into the water. Upon this double platform which is called the _ways_, is erected another set of timbers, and the s.p.a.ce between these and the vessel is filled all along with wedges. The whole of this superstructure is called the _cradle_, and the extremities of it are fastened to the keel, at the bow and stern, with chains and ropes.

22. Every thing having been thus prepared, the wedges are simultaneously driven on both sides. By this means, the vessel is raised from the stocks, and made to rest entirely on the cradle. After the _sh.o.r.es_ have been all removed, the cradle, with its weighty burden, begins to move; and, in a moment, the vessel is launched upon its destined element.

23. Among the ancients, a launch was ever an occasion of great festivity. The mariners were crowned with wreaths, and the ship was bedecked with streamers and garlands. Safely afloat, she was purified with a lighted torch, an egg, and brimstone, and solemnly consecrated to the G.o.d whose image she bore. In our less poetic times, there is no lack of feasting and merriment; although the ceremony of consecration is different, the oldest sailor on board merely breaking a bottle of wine or rum over the figure-head--still, perchance, the image of father Neptune or Apollo.

24. The vessel, now brought to the wharf, is to be equipped. The mode of doing this, is varied according as it may be a ship, brig, hermaphrodite brig, schooner, or sloop. The masts are first erected, and these are supplied with the necessary apparatus of spars, rigging, and sails. The latter are furnished by the sail-maker, who is sometimes denominated the _ship's tailor_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MARINER.]

THE MARINER.

1. The business of the mariner consists in navigating ships and other vessels from one port to another. This is an employment that requires much decisive resolution; and Horace has well said, that "his breast must have been bound with oak and triple bra.s.s, who first committed his frail bark to the tempestuous sea." There is certainly nothing which speaks louder in praise of human ingenuity, than that art by which man is able to forsake the land, contend successfully with winds and waves, and reach, with unerring certainty, his destined port in some distant part of the world.

2. Nor are the skill and intrepidity exhibited in this arduous employment, more worthy of our admiration, than the wonderful advantages resulting from it; for, we are indebted to the exercise of this art, for those improvements in our condition, which arise from the exchange of the superfluities of one country for those of another, and, above all, for the interchange of sentiments, which renders human knowledge coextensive with the world.

3. Ship-building is so intimately connected with the art of navigation, that the historical part of the former subject is equally applicable to the latter. It is, therefore, unnecessary to be particular on this point. We shall merely supply some omissions in the preceding article.