No. 12: State of the Whale Fishery in Massachusetts from 1771 to 1775
No. 12.
True Copy, Attest John Avery Junr. Secretary
N.B. About one quarter of the Spermaceti is head matter, one quarter of which was exported to Great Britain, the remainder manufactured into Candles. The Spermaceti Oil, previous to the Revolution, was mostly exported to Great Britain. The average price in that market for five years previous to the War, about forty pounds sterling for the Spermaceti Oil, and fifty pounds for Head. The Whale Oil was formerly about one half exported to the French and English West India Islands, the other half sold in the United States. The average price of this Oil, about seventy Dollars per Ton. A whale producing one hundred and twenty Barrels whale oil, will generally produce 2000 ℔ Bone, which was chiefly exported to Great Britain, the price about half a Dollar pr. pound. A whale producing 50 to 60 Barrels, will generally produce nearest ten pounds of bone to a Barrel of oil.—The average price of Oil for three years past, as follows, vizt. Spermaceti, one hundred dollars ⅌ ton. Whale Oil, fifty Dollars ⅌ ton. Head matter, one hundred and fifty do. ⅌ ton. Bone, about fifteen Cents ⅌ pound.
PrC (DLC: TJ Papers, 60: 10456); in hand of Lambert except for “No. 12.” inserted by TJ at head of text. Tr (DNA: RG 59, Record of Reports of Thomas Jefferson). FC (MBA). (Text of FC was enclosure No. 5 in Hancock to TJ; see Document I above.)