The formation of a German whaling company calls attention to whale fishing and the production of whale oil. There are two whaling ships in the harbor of Hamburg at present, where the whale blubber is worked into oil. The whales that have been caught are brought alongside these boats and are kept afloat by means of air that is pumped into them with the help of long rubber tubes measuring about 30 meters in length and having an inside diameter of 25 mm. On the whale, which may weigh 200 tons, stand the men who cut up the body into convenient sections that are conveyed to the deck of the ship by means of a rubber belt 1,5oo mm. wide and I5 mm. thick. When the oil has been extracted, it is led into tanks through rubber tubes IO m. long. The waste is worked into fish meal, and for carting this material a number of electric carts or barrows are used which are furnished with suitably protected tires to prevent slipping on the greasy decks.
That whaling is still an active industry may be judged from the fact that within four months of this year no fewer than 1,4oo whales were caught, and some 40,000 casks of whale oil, each containing I,OOO kilos of oil, were produced.
R.