196 HISTOBY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



Prof. G. O. Sars, who visited Captain Foyn's station hi 1874, says that the kind of whale 

 captured almost exclusively is the blue whale (Balcenoptera tiibbaldi). A smaller whale (probably 

 Balcenoptera laticeps) is also abundant, but, bciug smaller and less fat than the blue whale, is not 

 captured. Two other species of whales are said to come there in small numbers during the season 

 of -the herring fisheries, Balcenoptera musculus and the IMfgaptera loops. 



The condition of the whale fisheries of Norway in 1881 is told by United States Consul Gade, of 

 Christiania, in a report dated January 7, 1882. He says : " The floating ice in 1881 extended much 

 farther to the south and nearer to the coasts of Norway than usual. It was even found between 

 15 and 20 Norwegian miles north of the North Cape. This circumstance was not without its 

 influence on the temperature of the year, as the summer was unusually cold, but at the same time 

 the opinion has been expressed that it was advantageous to the whaling on the coasts of Finmark, 

 which was very considerable. It is supposed that ice drove such a supply of food into the fiords of 

 Finmark that whales, fish, and sea birds were drawn there in crowds. During the month of 

 March the Varanger Fiord is said to have offered a splendid spectacle ; several thousand whales 

 flocked in and carried on the wildest antics. The sea was covered with columns of spray, and the 

 heavy sound of the whales breathing could be heard as far as Vadso. The whale is, however, 

 protected during this month, and the fishing could only begin at the end of May, from which time 

 it continues through the summer. Two hundred and eighty whales were caught in 1881, the 

 largest number ever killed in one year off the Norwegian coasts. Some of the whales were described 

 as having a length of 90 feet and a circumference of 40 feet. Such whales are not met with every 

 day, but neither are they of exceeding rarity. 



" The whaling business in Norway increases and engages larger capital every year. Whalers 

 are now fitted out from several ports in Southern Norway, as well as from ports east and west of 



"The whales taken in Finmarken belong to the two species: Blaahvalen (Bal&noptera Sibbaldi Gray); yielding 

 90 hectoliters of oil, and Finhvalen (Balaenoptera musculus'), yielding 45 hectoliters; the Knolhval (Megaptera boops 

 Fabricius) is also sometimes taken. 



"The steamers used are built of iron, have a burthen of 32 R. T. nette and an engine of 25 to 35 nominal horse- 

 power. The length is 22.5 to 26.7 meters, the breadth 4 to 4.3 meters, and the draught a.5 to '2.8 meters. They ;in> 

 rigged as fore and aft schooners. Below deck are only the engine, the cabins, and a place for the cordage, as the whales 

 are always towed ashore either by the steamer or by a tugboat. The crew consists of nine men, viz, the captain, one 

 gunner, three engineers, one steward, and three sailors. The speed is 9 knots. 



" The guns used are muzzle-loaders, of steel, with steel-coils and mounted on swivels. The length 1.2 meters and 

 caliber 0.078. The charge 0.34 kilograms. They are fired at a distance of 20 to 40 meters. The gunner tries to hit 

 the whale between the ribs as near i,he spinal column as possible. 



"The gun-harpoon used was invented by Mr. Svend Foyn about 1860 and patented till 1882, when the patent ran 

 out in Norway. It consists of: The shell, 0.104 meters in diameter, length 0.319, and charge 0.5 kilograms; the barb 

 holster, length 0.319 ; the pole, length 1.307. 



"The shell is screwed to the barb-holster, which contains a glass filled with sulphuric acid. To the pole is 

 attached the rope, 0.143 in circumference and'733 meters long, with a ring running on the pole. The weight of the 

 rope, which is of hemp, is about 1,450 kilograms. 



"When the harpoon is to be used, the barbs, that are pivoting, are secured to the pole by rope-yarn, and the 

 shell screwed on the holster. As the number of barbs are 4, the shell and the holster, that turn in the ring at the 

 end of the pole when they are free, now form with the pole a solid mass. When the harpoon penetrates into Ihe 

 whale the rope-yarn slips off, the barbs turn as to make an angle with the holster, crushing the glass tube, and The 

 sulphuric acid, that communicates with the powder in the shell through a. channel in the sere.w, makes it explode. 



"Most whales sink. When they do not sink, several whalers are of the opinion that I ho respiratory organ is tilled 

 with coagulated blood, impeding the inhaled air to get out again. The reason for this theory is that there comes very 

 little blootl through the nostril of a whale that do not sink. No hand-harpoons are used. 



"The manner in which the fishermen kill the whale by means of arrows and cross-bow is the following: When 

 a whale enters a bay the passage is barred with a strong net. and the whale shot. They let him go for two or three 

 days inside. The arrows contain no poison, but later investigations havr led to (lie discovery of a peculiar barilla 

 that lives on arrows already used, and which poisons the blood. Ohl arrows (of iron) are only esteemed, and now we 

 ' know the reason why. After some days the whale becomes dying, and is dispatched with knives and harpoons. The 

 flesh is eaten, with exception of the parts round the wounds, whcie is iormed a tumor. The whale ordinary taken in 

 this manner is the Vaagehval (lialainoptera rostrata Fabricius). The number may amount to 15 to 20 a year." 



