REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



93 



of dairy cattle, where every young female born wiJl be saved and 

 reared and every young male not actually required for breeding 

 purposes will be otherwise utilized in the most profitable manner. 



SEALS REQUIRED BY SEAL ISLAND NATIVES. 



Tlie quota of seals whose meat was needed for food by the natives 

 of the Pribilof Islands was tentatively fixed at 7,500 for the calendar 

 year 1916. The number actually taken and utilized, including the 

 lew seals which died during the drives, was 6,468, of which 3,483 

 were from St. Paul Island and 2,985 from St. George Island. 



For the calendar year 1917, which up to and including August 24 

 was subject to the close-time law fixed by Congress, the food re- 

 quirements of the natives were regarded as the same as in 1916, 

 although it was of course contemplated that a part of those require- 

 ments would be met by the seals taken for commercial purposes. 



SALE OF SEALSKINS. 



During the fiscal year 1917 there were three public-auction sales 

 of skins taken from the seals that had been killed for the use of the 

 natives. These sales were conducted at St. Louis by Messrs. Funsten 

 Bros. & Co., agents of the Department, and consisted of skins that 

 had been received during several years, there having been no attempt 

 to dispose of sealskins in the fiscal year 1916 owing to the condition 

 of the market. The details of the sales are as follows : 



Date. 



September 20, 1916 

 January 29, 1917... 

 April 18, 1917 



Total 



Skins. 



Num- 

 ber. 

 1,900 

 2,000 

 1,500 



5,400 



Gross prices 

 received. 



$74,530.00 

 93, 678. 00 

 68,540.50 



236,748.50 



Net prices 

 received. 



5552,083.26 

 65,460.27 

 48,259.65 



165,793.18 



gross pnee 

 per skin. 



$39. 23 

 46.84 

 45.69 



43.84 



All of the foregoing skins were dressed, dyed, and machined before 

 being offered for sale, and were thus ready to be made into garments. 

 This is the newest feature of the .sealskin industry as estabhshed in 

 America by the Department. The financial results have been such 

 as to fully justify the agreement whereby the Government paid $10 

 apiece for the skins thus treated, and the buyers have expressed 

 great satisfaction that they were able to obtain finished goods, 

 whereas under the conditions formerly prevaihng they would have 

 been obHged to undergo the delay, the uncertainty, and the greatly 

 increased expense of having their raw skins shipped to London and 

 reshipped to America before any use could be made of them. It 

 is impossible to state just what monetary benefit the Government 

 has cierived from this arrangement, but some data afforded by the 

 April sale were very suggestive. On that occasion there were sold 

 at public auction, under the same conditions that attended the sale 

 of 1,500 dyed and dressed Alaskan skins, 1,553 raw skins taken from 

 the Robben Island seals under the supervision of the Japanese 



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