ORAL ARGUMENT OF HON. EDWARD J. PHELPS. 



337 



and land killing is reduced to 300 male seals. Hence, while 

 in five years natural deaths would reduce 10,000 male pups 

 to 1,8-40, natural causes and land killing together would, in 

 the same period, reduce 10,000 male pups to 300. If the 

 killing of male seals took place ^jro rata among seals of all 

 ages, it would reduce the " herd" to a very much less extent, 

 for it is obvious (without entering upon abstruse calcula- 

 tions of the value of male life at various ages to the breed- 

 ing power of the herd) that the seals which will be most 

 valuable for breeding purposes are those which are just 

 entering on adult life, having escaped the heavy mortality 

 attendant upon extreme youth, and having a long prospec- 

 tive period of breeding before them. The United States 

 Commissioners' Diagrams make it very apparent that the 

 system of land" killing hitherto adopted takes exclusively 

 the young mature life of the herd, and when this is con- 

 sidered, the reduction in virile male life shown in the Dia- 

 grams becomes explicable. 



The numbers of the various ages of female seals shown nnited states 

 in Diagram (B) are identical with those of the male seals linl?' ^' ' 

 at corresponding periods of life, and may thus be seen from 

 Table {a). On adding them up, we find that the following 

 are the assumed numbers of female seals out of a "herd" 

 of 40,025, shown by Diagram (B) : 



Young females, under 3 years 18,200 



Breeding females 20,960 



Decrepit 855 



Total - 40,(125 



If the figures in the various Tables be raised proportion- 

 ately from a natural " herd" of 80,030, which by the killing 

 of 2,100 annually is permanently reduced to 63,680, to a natu- 

 ral "herd" of 3,001,875, which by the killing of 78,750 

 ;per annmn is permanently reduced to 2,388,937, we shall 

 have in the "herd": 



Male pupa 



Male yearlings 



Males, from 2 to 5 years 



Young bulls, from 5 to 7 years. 



Breeding bulls 



Decrepit 



Total males 



Female jinjis 



Females, from 1 to 3 years . 



Breeding females 



Decrepit " 



Total females. 



Natural con- 

 dition. 



375, 000 

 187, 500 

 285, 000 

 131, 250 

 510,750 

 11, 437 



375, 000 



307, 500 



786, 000 



32, 437 



.1,500,937 



.1,500,937 



Reduced con- 

 dition. 



375, 000 



187, 500 



228, 750 



21, 000 



74, 250 



1,500 



375, 000 



307, 500 



781), 000 



32, 437 



.888,000 



.1,500,937 



The above figures agree nearly with those given on pp. 

 357-358 of the United States Case, the latter of which are 

 obviously round numbers. 



B S, PT XV- 



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