ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 57 



is from five to eight uiiinites; but as the season advances and the 

 vitality of the male is decreasing, and his procreative powers are some- 

 what exhausted, a greater length of time is required. 



The female arrives at puberty at 2 years and produces her first pup 

 at the age of 3 years. This I very readily determined from the fact 

 that when 1 year old both sexes haul up on the back grounds and are 

 not allowed by the bulls to approach the breeding rookeries during the 

 breeding season. Upon returning to the island the following year the 

 females enter the harems and the males of corresponding age take up 

 the position they occupied during the year previous. The young female 

 then receives the male for the first time and brings forth her pup the 

 following year. 



The period of gestation, judging from the different observations I 

 have made, is fifty weeks. 



The male arrives at the age of puberty at 3 years, but owing to an 

 inferiority in size and strength he is unable to cope with the old bulls 

 or maintain a position in the breeding grounds until he is fully 8 or 9 

 years old. 



THE FUR 



of the male is of a dark reddish-brown, mixed with black hair, with a 

 silvery tip extending beyond the fur. The nmne is quite shaggy, and 

 is a shade or two lighter than the rest of the body. The older the 

 animal the darker the fur until the seal reaches maturity. 



The fur of the female is similar to that of the male. The hair is 

 shorter and of a brighter color, especially about the neck and breast, 

 which is the principal means of distinguishing her from the male. 



The fur of the 3, 4, 5, and G year old males is the best for market, 

 and in killing great care is taken to select the seals of these ages and 

 this sex. The skin of the 5 and 6 year old commands the highest price 

 in market. This, in my opinion, is due more to the difference in the 

 size of the skin than in the quality of the fur, as the fur of the 3 and 

 4 year old males is equally as good as that of the older class. The qual- 

 ity of the fur and the size of the skin, however, varies in the ages in 

 the same proportion as the quality of the wool and the size of the pelt 

 of a flock of sheep. The fur is damaged to some extent by the animal 

 crawling and rolling over the rocks, and also by the action of the 

 weather. It is always desirable to obtain the catch as early as possi- 

 ble after the seals haul up, say in June and July, from the fact that 

 after this period the skin becomes stagey — that is, the animal com- 

 mences to shed the old hair, and the new hair making its appearance 

 midway through the fur deteriorates the quality and throws it out of 

 the category of prime skins. After reaching maturity and as they 

 advance in years the quality of the fur becomes poorer, being sorae- 

 Avhat long and coarse about the neck, and thin, short, and irregular 

 about the loins and small of the back. 



The following table will show the weights of a number of male seals 

 taken in the month of July, 1873, from 1 year old up to G : 



Age. 



"Weight. 



Poundg. 



One year I 33 to 46 



Two years 53 to 08 



Three years | 76 to 89 



Age. 



Fowr years . 

 Five years. 

 Six years . . 



Weight. 



Pounds. 



90 to HI 

 120 to 146 

 175 to 200 



