years prior to this innovation rich new grounds had been discovered in the Antarctic. In 1923 the first Norwegian whaling expedition to Ross Sea was fitted out; it proved possible to penetrate the barrier of pack ice and to reach the open water of Ross Sea. In 1925 the first «floating whale slip» left for the Antarctic. This was a large factory ship constructed so as to allow of the whale carcases being hauled into it along a slipway, greatly facilitating the work of the crew in flensing and cutting up the animal for the extraction of the fat (oil). The whaling industry now began to assume almost incredible dimensions. According to official returns Norwegian whaling companies (all north- ern and southern grounds) accounted for the following catches: ver | Mea | trop | “ana 1912 13,322 483,000 29.1 1914 14,687 576,000 34.4 1924 7,461 378,000 65.0 1926 14,535 656,000 79.0 1928 11,616 846,000 71.9 1930 21,609 1,796,000 133.0 1931 25,952 2,317,000 152.0 1932 797 28,590 — 1933 12,644 1,317,443 50.0 152