SPouTING IN FAVOR oF GAs. 333 
WHALE FISHING. 
HALING is the most ad- 
venturous occupation 
known within the cir- 
cle of legitimate in- 
dustry. It demands 
not only the explora- 
tions of most danger- 
ous seas, but a resi- 
dence upon them dur- 
ing the most inclem- 
ent seasons. For 
many years very lit- 
tle whaling has been 
done in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off the coast of Labra- 
dor, but the whales are again returning to their wonted feed- 
ing-grounds there, and the walruses or sea-cows nightly ap- 
proach, and sometimes rest on the islands. 
The Georgia shoals, and banks near Newfoundland gener- 
ally, teem with nearly all the fishes of the Northern seas. 
Fishes from afar visit those feeding-grounds, which are form- 
ed into rich pastures by the settling of the débris washed 
down from near the frigid zone. The heavy tides whose 
swift currents sweep around Scotland and Treland are met by 
counter tides and strong currents from Baffin’s and Hudson’s 
Bays, and these precipitate vegetable and mineral matters, in- 
cluding the drift of large rocks in icebergs, and, being assist- 
ed by the backing of the Gulf Stream, they have already form- 
ed the island of Newfoundland, the Fishing Banks, and the 
small islands which dot those waters, all of which will yet 
rise into an extensive territory, connecting Newfoundland 
with the main land south of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The 
waters of the Straits of Belle Isle, which form one of the prin- 
cipal outlets to the gulf, are so deep, and the rise and fall of 
the tides so great, that they have contributed to the forma- 
tion of the island of Anticosti, which is larger than Long Isl- 
