ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 47 



insectivorous 'birds, who knows if the equilibrium of nature will not be broken — an 

 equilibrium to which the creatures on the way to extinction have greatly contributed? 



With his harpoons, his firearms, and his machines of every kind, man, with whom 

 the instinct of destruction attains its highest point, is the most cruel enemy of nature 

 and of mankind itself. 



Happily, while yet in time, the savants sound the alarm. In this century, when 

 we believe in science, we must liope that their voice will not be lost in the desert. 



Above all, I have the conviction that the very wise measures which you propose 

 with the view of preserving the CaUorhinus ursinus from an impending destruction 

 will be submitted to an international commission, which will ratify them and give 

 them the force of a law. 



Will you accept, sir and honored colleague, the expression of my most distinguished 

 sentiments. 



Dr, Raphael Blanchard. 



REPLY OF DR. WILHELM LILLJEBORG. 



Stockholm, May 14, 1892. 

 Dr. C. Hart Merriam. 



Dear Sir: In answer to your letter of 2d of April, asking our opinion as to the 

 causes of the decrease of the stock of northern fur seals {CaUorhinus ursinus) on the 

 rookeries of the islands in the North Pacific or Bering Sea, and concerning the means 

 proposed by you to arrest this decrease, allow us to state the following: 



Your description of the life of the northern fur seal corresponds generally with 

 similar descriptions by former authors, from the celebrated Dr. Steller, who (1741-42) 

 visited the Commander Islands with Vitus Bering, to our days, and also with our own 

 personal experiences of the animal life in the Arctic seas, and with the informations 

 one of us gathered from the inhabitants during a short stay in the Bering Sea. 



We do not, therefore, hesitate to declare that the facts about the life and habits of 

 the fur seal stated by you in your said letter under 1-20 should serve as a base for 

 the regulations necessary to preserve this gregarious animal from its threatened 

 extinction in a comparatively short time. 



These regulations may be divided into two categories, viz: (1) Regulations for the 

 killing, etc., of the fur seals on the rookeries, in order to prevent the gradual diminu- 

 tion of the stock; (2) regulations for the pelagic sealing, or for the hunting of the 

 seals swimming in the ocean in large herds to and from the rookeries, or around the 

 rookeries during the time when the females are suckling the pups on laud. 



As to the former question, the killing of the seals on the rookeries, it seems at 

 present regulated in a suitable manner to effectually prevent the gradual diminution 

 of the stock. If a wider experience should require some modifications in these 

 regulations, there is no danger but that such modifications will be adopted. It is 

 evidently in the interest of the owners of the rookeries to take care that this source 

 of wealth should not be lessened by excessive exploitation. Nor will there be any diffi- 

 culty for studying the conditions for health and thriving of the animals during the 

 rookery season. v 



As to the pelagic sealing, it is evident that a systematic hunting of the seals in the 

 open sea on the way to and from or around the rookeries will very soon cause the 

 complete extiuction of this valuable and, from a scientific point of view, extremely 

 interesting and important animal, especially ae a great number of the animals killed 

 in this manner are pregnant cows, or cows temporarily separated from their pups 

 while seeking food in the vicinity of the rookery. Everyone having some experi- 

 ence in seal hunting can also attest that only a relativelj' small part of the seals 

 killed or seriously wounded in the open sea can in this manner be caught. We are 

 therefore persuaded that a prohibition of pelagic sealing is a necessary condition 

 for the prevention of the total extermination of the fur seal. 



Very truly, yours, W. Lilljeborg. 



REPLY OF DR. A. V. MIDDENDORFF. 

 Mr. W. WURT8. 



Sir: My delay in answering your letter is due to illness. I am very glad that the 

 United States have selected so competent a person as Dr. Merriam for the purpose of 

 ascertaining the causes of the rapid decrease of seals. The facts of the case have 

 now beeu scientifically explained, so that they may be readily understood even by 

 an unscientific person. The method of treating these animals which was originally 

 adopted by the Russian American Company at their home on the Pribilof Islands is 

 still continued in the same rational manner, and has, for more than half a century 



