40 THE WEALTH OF THE SEA 



valuable marine delicacies marketed in the United 

 States. At one time it was abundant in the salt and 

 brackish marshes along the Atlantic coast in the 

 Southern States, but now it is very scarce. On this 

 account attempts are being made to propagate it. 



Whale and Other Animal Products 



Whaling played a very important part in the early 

 history of our republic The New Bedford whalers 

 searched the seven seas for whales, and supplied a 

 large part of the world with illuminating oil, candles, 

 and whalebone. With the development of the petro- 

 leum industry, deep-sea whaling suffered a rapid 

 decline, for whale-oil was no longer a necessary illu- 

 minant. The invention of the harpoon-gun by Svend 

 Foyn in 1864 made it easier to capture whales and 

 gave the industry new life, and the discovery of 

 practical means of converting whale-oil into solid 

 fat brought about the rejuvenation of whaling. At 

 present about seventy million dollars' worth of whale 

 products is prepared annually. Whales are hunted 

 as never before, and so great is the slaughter that 

 unless some form of protection is immediately devised 

 the whale will become commercially extinct within a 

 decade or two. Protection will have to be brought 

 about by international agreement, for few whales 

 are found within the three-mile limit, and whalers 

 of any nation may take those found outside this 

 limit. Whale meat is a popular food in Japan and 

 is eaten extensively in Norway. It was introduced 

 into this country during the war, and at that time 



