CONTENTS 



PAGE 



PREFACE ...... 5 



CHAPTER I 



WHALES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION 



The migrations of whales The Greenland Right Whale 

 The Biscayan Whale or Nordcaper The Californian 

 Grey Whale The Humpback The Finners . \ 1 1 



CHAPTER II 

 THE ECONOMICS OF WHALING 

 The regulations for the protection of whales . . ... 39 



CHAPTER III 

 THE EARLY HISTORY OF WHALING (TO 1623) 



The Basque whalers The discovery of " Greenland " (Spits- 

 bergen) The first British whalers ^The Spitsbergen 

 fishery The whales found there The disputes between 

 the English and the Dutch Edge's description of the 

 fishery * * * * v '. 59 



CHAPTER IV 



THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT (1623-1750) 



The methods of the Dutch whalers at Spitsbergen Smeeren- 

 burg The French at Spitsbergen The English Mus- 

 covy Company Anderson and Gray's description of the 

 fishery The German whalers The pre-eminence of the 

 Dutch . . ... * . . .119 



7 



