SEAL-HUNTING JAN MAYEN SEALING-GROUNDS. 505 



teresting that it at the same time indicated the business feeling 

 of the English. 



" He urged me to try to unite the Norwegian and German 

 shipowners in an agreement that in the future they would not 

 take the young Seals before the 1st of April, till which time the 

 females should remain undisturbed j he would then, on his part, 

 endeavor to bring about a similar agreement on the part of the 

 English shipowners. In passing, I will remark that this idea 

 is a sound one, and that if the close-time should be extended till 

 the 4th, or better still, till the 6th of April, it would be espe- 

 cially favorable for the catch, and it will surely be necessary, 

 sooner or later, to unite upon a preserve-law ; but the strange 

 part of the matter is that the English never drew the rein so 

 long as they were the only ones who employed steamships, but 

 only when they feared that they should lose their supremacy. 



"As for the rest, it is still a precarious matter how to arrive 

 at the agreement proposed by the Englishman. The Norwegi- 

 ans must first be granted equal privileges with the English in 

 the use of steam-power ; I doubt not that the English would 

 then have not less reason to fear this agreement. Perhaps it 

 will result in bringing about the advantage of a close-time, as 

 already proposed by the Englishman. 



" There appeared some time since in Dammen's Journal an ac- 

 count of the construction of two steamships built for use in seal- 

 hunting, and it expresses great hope for the continuance of the 

 same. The ice-sea fleet from here (Tonsberg) has considerably 

 increased this year, and next year will be still further augmented. 

 So far as I have thus far been able to determine, the ice-sea fleet 

 from Southern Norway for the year 1872 will consist of eight- 

 een sailing-vessels and eight steamships, besides one sailing- 

 vessel and two steamships owned by foreigners, which ought to 

 be equipped and manned here. I must call this for our -small 

 share in a single field a great expansion j indeed, so magnificent 

 that it is time to cry Halt ! 



" The last four fortunate years have unquestionably aroused 

 so strongly the spirit of speculation that the less fortunate years 

 which preceded them are meanwhile wholly overlooked or quite 

 forgotten. If I mistake not, it is the same with the seal hunt- 

 ing as with the herring fishery it is periodical. 



" The catch of young Seals has considerably diminished dur- 

 ing late years ; scarcely a doubt prevails as to that. If in spite 

 of this the Norwegians in the last four consecutive years have 



