WHALING Norwegians have hunted the whale from very early times. Even the bards of the Viking period describe whale fishing as the act of heroism it was. The old methods were employed far into the nineteenth century: The whale was chased in rowing boats and attacked with spears and hand- thrown harpoons until it was exhausted and died. Obviously, only small whales could be killed by this method. Svend Foyn (1809 —1904), a Tons- berg skipper, invented the harpoon gun fired from a small, handy steamship, and thus made it possible to chase and kill even the largest whales. He also established shore stations to which the dead whales could be towed. Here he delivered his catch, and while the station was dealing with it he could proceed to sea again and con- tinue fishing. It is this method which — improved and developed — is employed at the present day. At many whaling grounds floating stations are now in use; these are large factory ships to which the carcases are towed and in which the raw material is converted whilst the chase is being continued in the surrounding waters by means 150