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yields about 30 gallons of oil, worth about '2 lOs., annJ the flesh, 

 is valued at about ,1 bs. The flesh is cut into slabs and salted', 

 or into strips, which are hung up under the eaves of the houses- 

 to dry. The meat is said to be palatable. Mr. Earland then 

 passed to his impressions of a visit to one of the whaling 

 stations established in Shetland during recent years by the 

 Norwegians, and gave a short historical account of the whale- 

 fishing. It was stated that until recently the rorqual and 

 humpback whales enjoyed immunity from attack, owing to 

 their speed and agility, and their savageness Avhen attacked 

 with the harpoon rendered their capture by boats almost 

 impossible. In 1870, however, a Norwegian, Sven Foyn, 

 invented the harpoon-gun, which has revolutionised the industry, 

 and will, in all probability, exterminate the remaining whales 

 within a comparatively short period of time. The harpoon-gun 

 is a steel carronade about 4 ft. long and with a 3|-in. bore. The 

 harpoon itself weighs about a hundredweight, and carries at its 

 point an iron cone containing a charge of powder, which is 

 exploded by a friction-fuse when the barbs are buried in the 

 whale. A successful shot means almost instant death to the 

 largest whale. The carcase is draw^n alongside the ship and 

 secured to the bows by a chain round the flukes of the tail. 

 It is then pumped up with air like a bicycle tyre to increase its 

 buoyancy, and is towed to a " station " and there cut up. First 

 the blubber is stripped off", then the head is separated from the 

 body, the baleen removed, and the head and skull cut up by a 

 steam-saw. The best portions of the flesh are removed for food, 

 and sold on the Continent as whale-beef. The residue of 

 flesh, bones, etc., after all oil has been extracted, is kiln-dried 

 and ground down to a powdei', Avhich is sold as whale-guano, a 

 splendid fertiliser. Sibbald's rorqual [Balaenoptera Sihhaldi) is 

 the largest animal known to science, either in the recent or 

 fossil state. In 1909 no less than 30 specimens were taken into 

 the whaling station at Bunaveneader, in Harris. The bulls 

 averaged 72 ft. 9 in. in length, and the cows 68 ft. 2 in. The 

 largest bull was 85 ft. long, and the largest cow, which was 

 81 ft. long, had a girth of 46 ft. The species occurs of even 

 larger size than this, .nnd is reported to attain a length of 

 120 ft. in the Antarctic. For the purpose of comparison, Mr. 

 Earland said that just before the meeting he had measured the 



