HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1931-02-26, Page 3VIL
IS •
The Whaling Trade
Of Modern Days
Whalers in the Antarctic are
Anticipating a Record Se-
son—Modern Methods
Have, Come to Their
Aid in Reviving This
Age-old Industry
By Captain David Bernard
Never Da the history of deep-sea
fishing line there .asseinhled Snot' a
great fleet as that engaged in the Ant-
- eretic to -day. Just north of the ice -
barrier and covering thousands of
miles, over 11,000 men are employed
on board 325 ships harvesting the
golden oil ram the mammals of the
sea.
Few or the millions who eat margar-
inerealize that the best qualities
come from the manly -White oil of
the sperm whale. The whole produc-
tion of the South Seas was sold last
year at $10 per ton, and it realized
$5,000,000.
This year the whaling fleet has been
increased by a hundred ships. During
the first week of the present season
one company alone produced oil to
the value of $240,000. Last year the
same company, the largest British
unit employed inthe whaling indus-
try, produced 202,650 barrels of whale
oil, valued at $4,180;045, during nine-
teen weeks' whaling.
Seaplanes Join In
Prominent among the sixty-eight
factory ships is the neWly. converted
4thenieeffirmerly owned by the 'White
Star Line; this vessel, which has
been renamed Pelagos, has been so al-
tered that she is scarcely recogniz-
able.
After removing the passenger ac-
commodation, a trunk -way was built
in her .stern opening to the edge of
the sea. Steel trapdoors open out, a
great drawbridge is lowered, chains
and heavy steel wires revolve round
electric capstans, and whales weigh-
ing anything from 50 to over 100 tons
are hauled bodily up the slipway to
the "'lensing" deck.
Then huge saws rip off "blankets"
of blubber, which is sliced itp agaiu
iu convenient chunks before it passes
to batteries of boilers which are cap-
able of producing oil at 120 tons- an
hour, After the blubber is removed
the carcass of the whale is hauled
along the fore -deck and sown up by
revolving bone -cutters, the small
pieces of flesh and bone passing into
other boilers SO that all oil is extract-
ed.
Formerly the residue was thrown
overboard, but this year it has been
generally agreed that it shall be con-
verted into bone -meal, which makes.
excel lent food or cattle, poultry, etc.
• In. tne eactenOsentingeOFJtiee s7elestl;e,
eeKeistidattelS6i00-01§130WiiMatxagiii,
place. ciehSeres•'arined witit
haepoeteginie and fitted with wireless
are now used, and • Work in conibina-
tion with scouting seaplanes carrying
bombs and quick -firing guns'.
Killing by Electricity
The modern method of killing by
-electricity has been brought into al-
most general use. As soon as the
harpoon strikes the whale the current
is switched on, and the great mammal
is electrocuted by the high voltage
which -passes through the copper core
of the harpoon. line.
The use of seaplanes in whale hunt-
ing is not yet general; weather dill-
cully,in the South Seas has proved a
great set -back. On the other' hand,
theyhave their advantages in that
whales can be seen from the air long
before the look -out in the crow's nest
can stop them. Moreover, planes are
useful in keeping track of "flagged"
fish. •
The system employed now is to in-
flate the hriles killed by pumping air
into them; they then rise from the
"sea like balloons when air-filled; the
hole is plugged up, and a nag inserted
so that they may be recovered after
,the catcher returns from the killing
of other fish. Often as many as four
great monsters are taken in "the
chase" and towed back to the factory
ship.
Modern whaling has given employ-
ment to large numbers of men in the
English shipyards, practically all the
ships being built, o'r converted, in Eng-
land. A whole fleet was built last
' year on the north-east coast et Eng -
laud,
One cr The greatest, whaling ships, a
okaaas.,-ama
MUTT AND JEFF— By
32,000-tonner, 'is new being built et
Belfast, She .and a fleet of nine no*
vestels. will beemployed to fish in
the vicinity, of Bouvet
It leas been found necessary to ewe
ploy oil trenspoets with• the• new
fleets.Nealy a dozen great tankers
bave
bean distributed among titin
ships. This will allow them to mar-
ket their oil before the close •of the
whaling season, and refill their tanks
beforereturning home.
Whaling by present-day methods is
nerhape the hardest and most adven-
turous employment the sea offers; it
appears to be the most profitable,
judging from the prolific dividends
paid. But it is hard work for the
youths and men who are being train-
ed. Frequently during the Rammer
months set the South whaling crews
work sixteen hours per day,
When Whales Hit Back
And there's danger lo be faced. A
harpoon fired from bow -guns on roll-
ing ships may miss the target, or, al-
ternatively, may inflict flesh wounds
which cause the big fish to become
furious and even attempt to ram the
"chaser."
The thresher whale is the worst
customer to deal with; he will attack
on the slightest provocation. There
is one authentic account of this sea -
tiger ramming the whaler Thetis and
forcing' the crew to abandon her.
By a strange coincidence two ships
of the same name have been in colli-
sion with Whales. On her maiden voy-
age from Liverpool, in July, 1875, a
whale rushed at the Cunard liner
Scythia with full force. The ship ap-
peared to have hit a submerged rock.
The impact was so terrific. that she
had to return to poet and go into dry-
dock.
Ia 1924 a later Scythia, had a weird
experience. After leaving Boston the
ship appeared to have struck a huge
log of timber. What had happened
was that in its mad rush a whale had
misjudged the speed of the ship, and
the great monster becamespipaled on
the bow, Only by going `feill speed
astern could it be freed.
A few months later the Cunarder
Samaria was attacked. Passengers
were startled to see a fiftyfoot wbale
alongside. It dived under the vessel
•before turning to ram; then it struck
the stern, and the sea became red
with blood.—Answers.
• '
Gabble Gertie
"Now -a -days a girl is not compli-
mented on het splendid carriage,
but on her classy chassis."
"',,, TT,T
• ,.•ro..",'";' • , ,
SchOttlil on Wheels
• , r •
L "
10:4"4„.0.4•Ptti
,..<••• •
-4,t4e-4..N-- • - ,
• .1 , , vn,,t bta • 'K.' 42$'4••
•
"Readin', 'ritin' and 'rithmette" te taught on travelling school trains in regions of northern On-
tario, north of Lake Superior, Whem school -houses do not exist. Pupils for most part, are children
of trappers and section hands.
Sunday School
Lesson
es
March 1.:Lesson IX—Jesus Sending
Forth Missionaries—Luke 10: 1-11,
17, 21, 22. Golden Text --The har-
vest truly Is great, but the labour-
ers are few: pray ye therefore the
Lord of the harvest, that he would
send forth labourers into his hay-
vest—Luke 10: 2.
ANALYSIS.
IL SENDING OUT MISSIONARIES, 10: 1, 2.
II. INSTRUCTIONS TO MISSIONARIES, 10:
• 3-11.
1M. A PRAYER OP THANKSGIVING, 10:
21, 22.
Toronto Hotel Design
Win Institute Medal
Toronto—The Royal York Hotel,
Toronto, said to be the largest hotel
in the British Empire, has won for its
architects the 1930 gold medal of the
Royal Architectural Institute of
Canada for the outstanding achieve-
ment in the last three years.
Sixteen architects from various
Parts of Canada submitted photo-
graphs of buildings, within the terms
of the competition, to the fifty-second
annualsexhibition of the Royal Cana-
dian Academy, held in Toronto.
Formal .presentation will be made
shortly to the successful competitors
George A. Ross and Robert H. Mac-
Donald, of Montreal; Henry Sproatt
and Ernest R. Rolph, of Toronto, at
the next annual meeting of the 'insti-
tute. to be held in Lucerne in Quebec.
There's one sure thing, and that
is that you can't be sure of any-
thing.
BUD
FISHER
vet -IA -0s ALL -nits -BLITC--.
BUsissGss? umers, .(ou,Re
TALWeroG ABeeeT MOAN'
rtieR AIN'T' No 'tarts;
irks et-t-Herk `MS oR No
LA tie YOU GoT.
JefV.,a's ABotst 'two. we
SI -Marti) SAVING some
Motkle`(,, HoW Mute&
weLL, 1
GoT A LaT
MoIMEN-
BLJT-
INTRODUCTION—Vie must not sup-
pose that Jesus is here laying down
precise rules which shall cover' the
conduct of Christian missionaries
throughout the ages. He is contem-
plating a particular missionary tour
which for certain' obscure reasona has
to be undertaken in a very great
hurry; forthereis to be no time for
pastorale W.Oric, 110 the to pd%
people -gradually; if the meseage'ie
not quickly accepted, the disciple must
hurry on to the next place, vs. 10, 11.
Why, we ask, the great haste? Some
have supposed twat Jesus, at this time,
expected the speedy coming of the end
of the world with the dawn of the
future kingdom of God. This does not
seem a very satisfactory explanation.
It is more probable that temporary
religious and political conditions made
the haste needful. The ministry in
Galilee, as. we may reasonably sup-
pose, was near an end. We are given
grounds for inferring that the Phar-
isees and the Herodians, that is, the
religious leaders and the court -party
in Galilee, or, in modern terms, the
clergy and the police, had appealed to
Herod who ruled Galilee, and that
Jesus was threatened with the fate of
John the Baptist if be remained in
that territory. It seems that before
his great assault on Jerusalem and
the Temple. Jesus retired across the
lake into Philip's country. It seems
likely, thereforethat this mission
was a hasty rush through the towns
and villages of Galilee to prepare
the minds and hearts of the people
for what was to follow. We cannot,
however, be certain of this.
L SENDING OUT MISSIONARIES, 10: 1, 2,
V. 2. Jesus indeed recognized the
world's sin, but he was far from being
a pessimist. He seems to, feel sure
that there must be a great response
to the good news, if only there are
messengers to bring it. This is the
only occasion when 'Jesus is said to
have bidden his disciples pray for a
particular object. It is significant
that this object should be an increase
in the number of missionaries.
n. INSTRUCTIONS TO MISSIONARIES, 10:
3-11.
V, 3. While Jesus was no pessimist,
he seas never an easy optimist. It goes
has& with sheep in the midst of
wolves. According to the hearer the
Christian message awakens great joy
orsgreat hatred. Some love the light
andturn eagerly t. it; others hate the
light and love darkness.
V. 4. The missionaries are to travel
without baggage and encumbrances;
they will find hospitality by the way;
that is all they need. They are not
to linger gossiping on the road, nor
even to spend time on individual con-
versions.
Vs. 5, 6. We speak ef "mere words"
and "empty words"; we think it super-
stitious to be afraid of curses, and
therefore we think of a blessing or
benediction as simply a convenient
formula for closing a service. But to
the ancients words seemed pewerful
things, like wir.ged creatures, going
forth from the speaker with some
power to accomplish their purpose. So
here, enter a'house with a blessing on
your lips; if the master of the house
is a truly religious man, a "son of
peace," your words will bring him a
realblessing; if not, you will a least
have tried to bless him.
V. 7. The support of home and for-
ign missions is an obligation upon
411 Christians.
Tb.rmnciplo of Siting. AO*
t beforeaydu became very iMpoTt%
alit.in later' 'year and in the 'Gentile
world. We learel ,from Paul's letters
how distressed *ere some Christians
if they were uncertain whether the
meat set before then had been proper-
ly killed or whether the beast had not
first been sacrificed in a heathen
temple.
V. 21. The success of the mission
showed that Satan's throne was tot-
tering (v. 18).
III. A PRAYER OP THANKSGIVING, 10:
V. 22,
2.1T2h2is verse may be taken in
either of two ways: by "the son" we
may understand Jesus himself; in this
case he is claimin a unique knowl-
edge of God and a unique mediator -
ship. Or "the son" may be taken in
its Old .Testament sense of "Israel,"
meaning here the true spiritual Israel.
It is difficult to decide between these
two interpretations, for both cover a
spiritual truth.
What N w York
Is Wearing
---
Illustrated Dressmaking Lesson Fur. -
wished With Every Pattern
Phone Expense $100,000
For British Fair Exchange
Buenos Ayres.—More than $100,000
hies been spent by telephone - and
cable companies in. installation of
lines and booths at the British Em-
pire Trade Fair grounds in Palermo,
providing for direct service from the
eXposition to twenty-five nations.
The International Telegraph and
Telephone Company has placed its
entire system, national and interna-
tional, at the disposition of the
Prince of Wales's party. The Union
Telephone Company has established
a coMplete automatic exchange at
the fair grotinds with a capacity of
400 'subscribers.
Skating by Moonlight*
I like pond alcating best by moon-
light. The hollow among the hills
will 'always have a bit of Mist hang
ing about it, let the sky be as clear
as it may. The moonlight which
seems so lucid and brilliant as you
look up, is all pearl and smoke round
the pond and the bills. The shore
which is like iron under your heel as
you come down tothe ice, is as
vague when you look at it from the.
tenter of the pond es the, memory ot
a dream. The motion is like fly-
ing in a dream; you float free and
the world floats under you; yqur velo-
city is without effort and without
accomplishment, for speed as yet
may you leave nothing behind and
approach nothing. You look up-
ward. The mist is overhea4 now;
yon see the moon in a "hollow halo"
at the bottom of "an icy crystal cap,"
and you yourself are in just suck ate
other. The mist, palely opalescent,
drives past her out of nothing inte
nowhere. , . . If by moonlight the
mist plays upon the con.sciousuesi
like faint, bewitching zuusic, in sun
light it is scarcely less. More often
thau not when I go for my skating
to our cosy little river, a winding
mile from the milldam to the rail-
road trestle, the bills are clothed itt
silver mist, which frames them in
vignettes with blurred edges like
Japanese paintings on white silk,
Such color as they have shows soft
and dull through the frost -powder
with which the air is filled. . . The
silver powder has fallen on the ice,
just enough to cover earlier tracings
and leave me a fresh plate to etch
with grapevines and arabesques. The
stream winds ahead, like an unbroken
road, barred across with soft -edged
shadows of violet, indigo and laven-
der.—Robert Palfrey 'Utter, M "Pearl's
and Peppers."
1,000 Frozen to Death
In Manchurian Streets
Harbin, Manchuria. — 'With the
mercury falling as low as 45 degrees
below zero, more than 1,000 persons
have been picked up off the streets
of this city frozen to death. Fen
persons venture out of doors.
walk- of two blocks is sufficient tc
freeze a man's nose or cheeks.
The intense cold iiae caused trains
on most lines to run two and three
days behind time, The Trans-
Siberian. Relined was two days be-
hind schedule throughout Decembei
and January. One train on the
Chinese Eastern Railway left the
tracks when the locomotive wheels
cracked from the cold.
9,000 Earth Tremors
Estimated Daily Record
Cambridge, Mass.—Dr. L. Don Leet
of the Harvard Seismograph station
has, estimated,that about 9,000 earth
tremors, 'Most of them alight, are
recorded M the world daily.
No section of the earth is immune
from quakes, according to Dr. Leet,
He said an average of one shock a
day is recorded on Harvard's seismo-
graph, while in Japan the average is
four daily.
Dr. Leet predicted that a severe
shock would occur in New England
soon. "Earthquakes come in cycles."
he said, "and since a great one has
not taken place hereabouts for more
than two centuries, we can be de-
finitely certain that one is about
due."
The jumper she'll love. Who
wouldn't when all the chic little
Parisiennes are wearing this very
model. And it's so charming and so
practical.
Mother will love it too for it has
a number of good qualities.
It's especially desirable with the
main part of the dress made of wool
jersey in delightful pilot blue shade
with. deep blue binding as sketched.
The jumper is made of white cotton.
broadcloth with a soft lustrous finish.
It can also be carried out in sports -
weight linen 'and is fetching in coral
ink shade. White handkerchief linen.
with matching coral -pink dot.will fa-
shion the jumper.
Style No. 2965 is designed for girls
of 6, 8, 10 and 12 years.
Tweed -like cottons, wool challis
prii0 and pique also smart.
HOW TO ORDER, PATTERNS
Write your name and address plain-
ly, giving number and size of such
patterns as you vant. Enclose 20c in
stamps or coin (coin preferred; wrap
it carefully) for each number, and
address your order to Wilson Pattern
Service, '73 West Adelaide St., Toren:te
Cub Reporter; "Had your dia-
mond stolen lately? Engaged to
any dukes?"
Stage Favorite: "Kindly omit ba-
nalities. Actresses don't talk that
kind of stuff nowadays. If I am to
be interviewed I shall discuss ethi
cal questions only."
Some Answers Are Very
Inquisitive.
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