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cies known to inhabit these coasts, while the only fossil one, A. subcostataConrad, a species from the Colorado Desert, appears to be different, asthe name would imply. For this reason, I have attached a name to therather imperfect material received from Mr. Hemphill.Scalaria Hemphillii, n. s. (7991).Shell in general resembling a robust specimen of *S'. indianorum^having from nine to twelve varices on the last whorl, coronated behindnear the suture, wholly pure white; surface of the whorls beneath thevarices longitudinally delicately sculptured, with alternate riblets andgrooves. Length about an inch; apical angle about 30?.This species has the sculpture of 8. bellastriata, but the shape of S.indianorum, and is the only grooved species, except the former, whichhas yet been reported from this region. All the specimens are decol-late. The specimens were sent by Mr. Hemphill with the suggestionthat they might prove to be new, and an examination has confirmed thesuggestion. I take much pleasure in dedicating it to its discoverer.The two species of Cancellaria mentioned were obtained from the SanDiego well some years since, but having been mislaid cannot at thismoment be identified. Mamma nana Moller is now found living inArctic seas and fossil in the Tertiary of Japan.Washington, February 3, 1878.TH? ITIANIJFACTURE OF PORPOI^iE-OIL..By Capt. CALEB COOK, of Proviucetown, :nass.About the year 1816, sailors and fishermen having caught a porpoiseon their voyage, would sometimes extract the oil from the jaw-bone andgive it to carpenters and those who used oil-stones for sharpening theirtools. Finding in this way that it did not gum nor glue, suggested theidea that it was just what was wanted for a nice lubricator. It wasnoticed that the weather at zero would not congeal it, neither would itcorrode on brass.Watchmakers were then using olive-oil as the only fitting oil forwatches; but by experimenring with the porpoise-jaw oil they found itsuperior to the olive or any other oil, consequently the sailors and fish-ermen found a ready market for all they were able to obtain.This state of things continued until the year 1829, when a shoal ofblackfish, about forty in number, was taken at Proviucetown, Mass.,being the first for many years. Solomon Cook, of that town, took fromthe jaws of those blackfish a few gallons of oil, and sent it to Ezra Kel-ley, of New Bedford, Mass., a skillful watchmaker, to be tested forwatch-oil. Mr. Kelley soon found that this oil was superior to theporpoise-oil, as it had more substance and less chill. He contractedwith Solomon Cook to supply him from year to year until 1840, whenSolomon Cook died, and his oldest son sui)plied Mr. Kelley until the
PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 1 7demand was so great that the jaws of the blackfish were not sufficientto supply the market.Porpoise-jaw oil can be refined a little by exposure to the cold at zero,and in that state, with the atmosphere at zero, it is strained througha cotton flannel strainer made in the shape of a cone, but when filteredthrough paper it is so limpid that it has no lubricating properties what-ever, and becomes useless. This oil is called porpoise-jaw oil, but istaken from the blackfish, belonging in the family of whales, by a methodknown only by myself. It is warranted not to congeal with cold atzero, though it will thicken and turn a little milky in appearance. Itis warranted not to corrode on brass or rust on steel, and it will notglue on the finest watch. Ezra Kelley, of New Bedford, Mass., hasmade it a business for many years to put it up for watch use, and hasled in the market, while B. 11. Tisdale, of Newport, R. I., and I. M,.Bachelder, of Boston, are getting quite popular in the Europeanmarket.Caleb Cook, youngest son of Solomon, from scientific experimentsdid discover, about the year I8i2, that the melon-oil of the blackfishwas far superior to the jaw-oil in every respect?so much so that Mr.Kelley, who had about this time become very popular in preparing thisoil for the trade, would not buy it until he was told what it was pro-duced from; and from that time to the prcvsent, 1876, Caleb Cook'sblackfish-melon (watch) oil has been refined by Kelley, of New Bedford,Bachelder, of Boston, Tisdale, of Newport, and many others on a smallerscale, for the world's use. Since the year 1842, Caleb Cook, of Province-town, Mass., claims to be the only person who understands the art of pro-ducing this oil free from all glutinous matter and fit for use. This, hesays, is done by a process known only by himself?not by mixing otheroils or liquids with it, but by extracting all the acid and gluten from it,and leaving the oil pure for the finest and most delicate machinery.This, he says, cannot be done by the chilling and straining process; forwhen it becomes perfectly transparent at zero, the lubricating propertiesare all gone, the oil runs off the pivots, spreads on the plates, dries up,the pivots cut, turn red, and the oil is worse than worthless, for the val-uable tiraekeepier is no longer what it was once for the want of oil withmore substance and lubricating properties.Porpoise jaw oil and blackfish-melon oil are worth from $5 to $15 pergallon, according to supply. These oils are sold under the above trade-names, and also under the names "watch-oil" and "clock-oil". Theyare used largely by manufacturers of firearms, watches, and philosoph-ical apparatus. Smith & Wesson, of Springfield, Mass., the EthanAllen factory, at Worcester, Bye ?& '^Johnson, of Worcester, the HowardWatch Company, the Elgin Watch Company, the Waltham WatchCompany, and the clock-factories in Connecticut, use them constantly.The philosophical-instrument makers use them for air-pumps, as theykeep the leather always soft and pliable. Telegraph-instrument makersProc. Nat. Mus. 78 2 PubiishcA juiy i, isrs.
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use them when they can get them. They are used in government light-houses for the clocks of revolving lights. The color of the oils is verylight, and can be made very white by placing in the window, wherethey will bleach in a short time. One drop of water in one pint of theoil will injure it very much.It may be interesting to know how those fish or whales are taken.They make their appearance about the shores of Cape Cod and Barn-stable Bay from early in the summer until early in winter; and when itbecomes known that a shoal of blackfish is in the bay, the boats aremanned and proceed at once to get in their rear; and, as the fish are atthe surface of the water the most of the time, it is easy to tell how tomanage to keep them between the boats and the shore. While in thisposition the men in the boats will make all the noise with their oarsthey can, and that will cause them to go in the opposite direction fromthe boats and toward the shore; and when the fish find that they arein shoal water, by seeing the sandy bottom, they become alarmed, andgo with all their might till they run fast aground on the sand. Theboats then row in their midst; the men with lance in hand jump out oftheir boats into the water, and butcher them as a butcher would a hog,and it becomes one of the most exciting occasions that it is possible toimagine, for the water flies in every direction, and the blood flows freelyuntil death puts an end to the great tragedy. When the water ebbs andleaves them dry, their blubber is taken off, cut in slices, and the oiltried out. About thirty gallons upon an average is what one fish willmake, and the melons will average about six quarts. The melons aretaken from the top of the head, reaching from the spout-hole to the endof the nose, and from the top of the head down to the upper jaw. Whentaken oflin one piece, they represent a half watermelon, weighing abouttwenty-five pounds. When the knife is put into the centre of this melon,the oil runs more freely than the water does from a very nice water-melon?hence the name melon -oil.About the same time that the blackfish made their appearance in ourwaters, another of the whale species made its appearance also, calledby the fishermen "cowfish" and by the historian "grampus". Thesewhales are very much in the shape of the blackfish, only smaller, notso fat, and not so dark-colored. The oil from the melon of this fishis thought to be superior to anything yet found in the blackfish or theporpoise. It is of a very yellow color, and when reduced by the chill-ing and straining process it appears to have all the body and lubricatingproperties that are wanted for the very best watch-oil; but as it willtake one year to determine it by practical experiments, it is thoughtbest to keep it out of the market for the present.This fish has made its appearance in our waters but three or fourtimes in the last forty years, or about once in ten years. The methodof taking it is the same as for the blackfish.