HARD WICKE'S S CIENCE-G SSIP. 



8i 



continued during the whole of their stay upon the 

 land. The pups do not take readily to the water at 

 first, but soon learn to love the element in which so 

 much of their future life is to be spent. By the ist of 

 October the seals begin to leave the islands, the males 

 going last and keeping to themselves. 



The seals engaged in breeding are on no account 

 allowed to be disturbed, all those which are killed 

 belonging to the "bachelor" class, and of these only 

 about 100,000 ai'e killed annually, those of two or 

 three years of age being selected. The bachelor seals, 

 as before observed, are not allowed to occupy the 

 "rookeries," but take up their station on the slopes 

 above ; they can thus be surrounded and driven 



suitable age are allowed to escape and return to the 

 shore ; those destined to be killed are driven to the 

 killing-place, some six or seven miles distant (out of 

 sight and smell of the rookeries), by easy stages of 

 rather over a mile a day ; hei-e they are allowed to 

 rest and cool themselves, as, if too much heated, the 

 fur is loosened. When required for killing, from 70 

 to 100 are separated from the flock, driven together, 

 and those selected quickly dispatched by a blow on 

 the nose ; tlie rejected ones are allowed to go to the 

 nearest water, and quickly return to their old haunts. 

 This goes on till the whole flock is disposed of. The 

 skins, after being removed, are salted in bins, and 

 afterwards packed, the flesh sides inward — with a 



Fig.'yi. Steiler's Sea-lion {Otaria Stclleri), — after Scammon. 



away without alarming the breeding seals. The 

 killing commences in June, but the best months are 

 September and October, although more care has to 

 be exercised then, as at that time a large number of 

 females are mixed with the young males, from which 

 it is difficult to distinguish them (not a single female 

 is allowed to be killed), whereas, earlier in the sea- 

 son, males alone occupy the slopes, and it is only 

 necessaiy to select those of the proper age. When it 

 is determined to make a drive, a party of men ap- 

 proach quietly and creep between the seals and the 

 shore, when, starting up with a shout at a given sig- 

 nal, they commence driving the seals inland. As 

 they proceed, as many as possible of those of an un- 



little fresh salt between them — for shipment. On 

 arrival in this country the skins are properly dressed 

 and the long hairs removed by paring down the flesh 

 side of the skin till the roots of the hairs, which are 

 deeper seated than those of the fur, are cut through ; 

 all the coarse hair is then brushed off and the beauti- 

 ful under fur alone is left ; this is at first of a reddish- 

 brown colour, arranged in little curls, which in the 

 subsequent process of dyeing lose their crispness, and 

 the skin, which in the rough was sufficiently unattrac- 

 tive, is now converted into the beautiful silky fur so 

 well known as " seal skin." 



By the wise regulations of the American Govern- 

 ment an annual rent of 50,000 dollars and a tax on 



