216 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



OCCURRENCE OF FUR SEALS IN MID-OCEAN. 



By LIEUT. Z. E. TANNER, U. S. N. 



[Letter to Prof. S. F. Baird.] 



At your request I send you the following extracts from my remark 

 book during a passage from Yokohama to San Francisco in the Pacific 

 mail steamer City of Peking : 



June 25, 1878.— Latitude at noon, 42° 55' 53" north, longitude 162° 

 14' 45" east. During the morning passed branches of a tree; saw a 

 couple of seals, several ducks, albatross, and large numbers of jelly-fish. 



June 26.— Latitude noon, 42° 53' 17" north, longitude 167° 16' 30" east 

 A. M. — Several pieces of driftwood seen ; ducks, whales, and whale 

 birds in sight occasionally. P. M. — Passed several pieces of driftwood 

 — two pine trees 60 to 80 feet in length. 



June 28.— Latitude noon, 42° 43' 22" north, longitude 177° 43' 06" 

 east. A. M. — Several seals and ducks seen. 



June 30.— Latitude noon, 43° 05' 18" north, longitude 167° 41' 06" 

 west. A. M. — Passed a pine tree 1£ foot diam., bark gone, surface clean. 



July 1.— Latitude noon, 43° 01' 14" north, longitude 161° 23' 30" west. 

 A. M. — Whales, seals, puffins, &c, seen during the day. 



Note. — Puffins mentioned in this day's remarks are the ducks of pre- 

 vious days. 



July 2.— Latitude noon, 43° 05' 12" north, longitude 155° 26' 37" west. 

 A. M. — Whales seen during the day. P. M. — A large school of fish 

 seen during the evening. 



Note. — Uncertain as to kind of fish; last called them skip-jacks. 



July 3.— Latitude noon, 43° 02' 06" north, longitude 145° 41' 30" west. 

 A. M. — Porpoises seen during the morning. P. M. — A large school of 

 fish resembling herring seen during the afternoon. Passed a large 

 drift log covered with barnacles at 5.30 p. m. 



July 4.— Latitude noon, 43° 05' 56" north, longitude 144° 16' 00" west. 

 Whales and a small number of Portuguese men-of-war (vcllala) were 

 seen during the day. P. M. — Whales seen during the afternoon. 



July 5.— Latitude noon, 42° 41' 52" north, longitude 138° 30' 15" west, 

 A. M. — Whales and a small number of vellalas seen during the day. 

 The usual number (3) of gonies following the ship. 



Note. — The three gonies referred to were usually with the ship, until 

 we approached land at either end of the route. Other birds were seen 

 almost daily, but it seldom happened that those mentioned above were 

 absent for any length of time. 



I have no doubt seals, &c, were seen on other voyages, but my books 

 are not at hand to-day. 



U. S. F. C. Steamer Albatross, 



Navy Yard, Washington, D. C, December 29, 1882. 



