MARINE MAMMALS — KELLOGG 311 



float. Then a flag is stuck into the carcass before it is cut adrift to be 

 picked up later and towed to the f actor}' ship. Wlien two or three of 

 these whales have been captured in this manner, they are towed to the 

 factory ship or shore station, where their carcasses are dealt with 

 promptly and efficiently. 



During the first few yviivs the floating factory ships were steam- 

 ers of 2,300 to G,000 tons. During this period also, the whales were 

 cut up alongside the factory ships, and the blubber and the head 

 were hoisted on board. For more rational use of the carcass these 

 factory ships have been constantly improved. The large ships now 

 in use are provided with a slipway, usually located at the stern 

 above the propellers, on which the whale carcasses are drawn to 

 the main deck by steam winches. Within 1 or 2 hours, the mam- 

 moth corpse is processed down to the last scrap of flesh. 



The dead-weight tonnage of about half of the factory ships now 

 in operation is around 20,000 tons. The I'erje Viken, the largest 

 of them all, is 633 feet long and is rated at 30,000 dead-weight tons. 

 Ten whale-catcher boats are needed to kill sufficient whales to keep 

 this factory ship operating 24 hours a day. Something like 418 men 

 comprise the crew. 



The perfecting of the kerosene lamp, of the gas mantle, of the 

 electric light, and the deflating of women's garments gave the whales 

 a respite for some j^ears, but a sudden demand for the glycerine 

 needed for the making of ammunition for the destruction of men 

 gave the final impetus to these animals' fast approaching doom. 

 Prior to World War I glycerine was a mere byproduct of the soap 

 makers. Then came the enormous demand for this substance to be 

 used in the manufacture of munitions. As whaling operations were 

 necessarily suspended in the North Atlantic on account of the war, 

 the active modern exploitation of the Antarctic Held began. 



Whale oil is now used principally for soap, with glycerine as a 

 byproduct, for the manufacture of edible fats such as margarine 

 in Europe, and to a lesser extent for leather currying, fiber dressing, 

 face creams, unguents and ointments. In addition to this oil, a 

 furrow-throated whale of average size will yield about 4 tons of 

 meat, bone, and fertilizer. As a result of improved methods of 

 pursuit and handling, as well as the discovery of new uses for 

 whale oil in such things as margarine and cosmetics, the search for 

 whales is now more active than ever. 



The present century has witnessed large-scale killing of whales by 

 relatively few ships. When World War I ended, it was expected 

 that the demand for whale oil woukl drop oif, but instead tlie total 

 world production rose from 362,000 barrels in 1919 to 1,040,408 bar- 

 rels in 1925. Since then the total Antarctic production of whale oil 

 has increased year by year, (he amount obtained in 1937-38 being 



