THE LANDINGS 117 



is cut away. The discarded parts go to 

 the meal works, where the material is sub- 

 jected to great heat and completely steril- 

 ized, the result being a meally powder in 

 appearance something like sand. The ad- 

 vantage of utilizing the surplus of a glutted 

 market, and consequently making the 

 trawlermen's efforts more remunerative, 

 is obvious. 



Iceland and Faroe. In the middle of 

 the North Atlantic, a stepping-stone be- 

 tween the Old and the New World, lies 

 Iceland, a land of ice-covered plateaux, 

 off whose .shores are some of the most 

 important fishing banks of the world.. 

 When discovered in the ninth century by 

 the Norsemen, Iceland was found to be 

 inhabited by a few wanderers of Irish ex- 

 traction. The newcomers soon brought 

 in other hardy Viking followers, who con- 

 tinued their voyages to Greenland and parts 

 of North America, thus forestalling Columbus 

 by five hundred years. In the subse- 

 quent centuries Icelandic civilization was 

 in the forefront of progress, and the country, 

 being practically cut off from Europe, was 

 little influenced by the rise and fall of 



