Shooting a sei whale. Tliis photograph was snapped at a speed of one one-thousandth of a second 

 just as the harpoon had struck the whale. The smoke, sparks and wads of oakum with which the gun 

 was loaded are seen in the air. Note the whale's nostrils which are widely expanded as the animal was 

 drawing in its breath preparatory to descending into the water 



called the scjhval by the Norwegians 



Sei whale drawing in its breath. 

 widely expanded and greatly protruded 

 286 



The nostrils are shown 



and the iwashi hujira .or sardine whale 

 by the Japanese, was being 

 taken here. 



This whale, although 

 forty to fifty feet long had 

 never before been recorded 

 in the Pacific and although 

 it had formed the basis of 

 the Japanese summer fish- 

 ery for nearly fifteen years, 

 not a single individual had 

 reached the attention of a 

 scientist. Whether or not 

 this species will prove to be 

 synonymous with the sei 

 whale {Balaenoptera borcalis 

 Lesson) of the Atlantic has 

 not yet been determined, but 

 it is the subject of a mono- 

 graph now in preparation. 



