What Is Found About The Belly Of The Whale Is Commonly Spoiled
By The Wet, And Has An Unpleasant Scent; But The Ambergris Which Is Not
Contaminated By The Ordure In The Belly Of The Whale, Is Perfectly
Good[20].
It is not unusual to employ the vertebrae of this species of whale as
stools; and it is said, there are many houses in the village of Tain, ten
leagues from Siraff, in which the lintels of the doors are made of whale
ribs.
An eye-witness told me that he went to see a whale which had been
cast ashore, near Siraff, and found the people mounting on its back by
means of ladders; that they dug pits in different parts of his body, and
when the sun had melted the grease into oil, they collected this, and sold
it to the masters of ships, who mixed it up with some other matter, used by
seamen for the purpose of serving the bottoms of their vessels, and
securing the seams of the planks, to prevent or to stop leaks. This
whale-oil sells for a great deal of money; and the bones of the whale are
sold by the druggists of Bagdat and Bassora.
The pearl oyster is at first a small thin tender substance, resembling the
leaves of the plant called Anjedana, and swims on the surface of the sea,
where it sticks to the sides of ships under water. It there hardens, grows
larger, and becomes covered by a shell; after which, it becomes heavy, and
falls to the bottom of the sea, where it subsists, and grows in a way of
which we are ignorant.
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