106 BULLETIN OF THE 



than if left to themselves ; for when the number of males is in excess, 

 the continual fighting on the rookeries destroys many of both females 

 and young, which get trampled to death.* 



Mode of Curing the Skins. — The skins are all taken to the salt- 

 houses and are salted in kenches or square bins, the skins being spread 

 down flesh side up, and a quantity of loose salt profusely scattered over 

 them. They remain thus packed for thirty or forty days, when they 

 are taken from the bins ; the loose salt is removed, and the skins are 

 folded together, the flesh side in, and sprinkled as they are folded with 

 a small quantity of clean salt. They are then ready for shipment, only 

 requiring a small additional quantity of salt whenever removed. 



Number of Seals frequenting the Island. — There are at least twelve 

 miles of shore lme on the island of St. Paul's occupied by the seals 

 as breeding-grounds, with an average width of fifteen rods. There be- 

 ing about twenty seals to the square rod, gives one million one hundred 

 and fifty-two thousand as the whole number' of breeding males and fe- 

 males. Deducting one tenth for males leaves one million thirty-seven 

 thousand and eight hundred breeding females. Allowing one half of the 

 present year's pups to be females, this will add half a million of breeding 

 females to the rookeries of 1872, in addition to those now there, while 

 the young of last year and the year before are also to be added. This 

 estimate does not include the males under six years of age, these not 



* The almost total extermination at some points of some of the various seals formerly 

 extensively hunted for their skins or their oil on the islands and coast of Southern South 

 America is well known. Weddel states (in his "Voyage," already cited) that the 

 number of fur seals taken off the Shetland Islands, during the years 1821 and 1822, may 

 be computed at 320,000. li This valuable animal," he adds, " might, by a law similar to 

 that which restrains fishermen in the size of the mesh of their net, have been spared to 

 render annually 100,000 furs for many years to come. This would have followed from 

 not killing the mothers till the young were able to take to the water; and even then only 

 those which appeared to be old, together with a proportion of the males, thereby dimin- 

 ishing their total number, but in slow progression. ' This system is [183fl] practised at 

 the river of Plata. The island of Lobos, in the mouth of that river, contains a quantity 

 of seals, and is farmed by the Governor of Monte Video, under certain restrictions, that 

 the hunters shall not take them but at stated periods, in order to prevent the animals 

 from being exterminated. The system of extermination was practised, however, at 

 Shetland; for whenever a seal reached the beach, of whatever denomination, he was 

 immediately killed and his skin taken, and by this means, at the end of the second year 

 the animals became nearly extinct ; the young losing their mothers when only three 

 or four days old, of course all died, which, at the lowest calculation, exceeded 100,000." 



J. A. A. 



