94 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



Governraent ; the Japanese skins were of essentially the same quality 

 as the Alaskan, and whereas the former brought on an average 

 $25.84 per skin, the latter, as already stated, brought $45.69 per 

 skin, an increase of $19.85 after allowing for the cost of preparation. 

 All branches of the fur-seal industry have thus become firmly 

 estabUshed in America through the action of the Department, and 

 not only Alaskan skins but skins from seal herds jn the custody of 

 other governments are finding their markets here. 



BRANDED SEALS. 



The 5,228 fur-seal pups branded on the Pribilof Islands in 1912 

 have continued to afford valuable data bearing on the relation of 

 age to size and growth. These data supply the most authentic and 

 only conclusive evidence on this much-discussed subject. 



During the season of 1916 numbers of these branded seals — ^both 

 male and female — were observed in drives and on the rookeries. 

 On St. George Island, in the period from June 9 to August 10, 1916, 

 there were noted in various diives 198 male seals bearing the 1912 

 brand and therefore 4 years old; 30 of these were taken for accurate 

 measurement. Branded seals were noted in nearly every drive of 

 bachelors and in considerable numbers among the cows in the harems. 

 On St. Paul Island 44 branded males were taken for examination. 

 The foregoing examples were included in the 1916 shipment of skins 

 and were classified by the experts in St. Louis as foUows, the designa- 

 tion being in accordfance with the long-estabHshed and universally 

 recognized London standard : 



Number. 



Small pup 2 



Middling pup 4 



Large pup 22 



Small 27 



Middling 4 



Middling and small 15 



Total 74 



The variations in the size of seals of the same age are clearly shown 

 in this statement. The 74 skins from seals known to be 4 years old 

 fall into six trade categories, with " large pups" and "small" predom- 

 inating. The trade names applied to sealskins have come to mean 

 so little and are so misleading that a new classification would seem 

 to be demanded. 



UTILIZATION OF WASTE PRODUCTS OF T.HE SEALING INDUSTRY. 



With the exception of limited quantities of seal meat required by 

 the native inhabitants of the Pribilof Islands, practically the entire 

 carcass of the fur seal after the removal of the skin has up to this 

 time been discarded. During the close time, with its restricted take 

 of seals, this waste of useful material has not been serious, but with 

 the resumption of commercial sealing it will become the duty of the 

 Bureau to endeavor to find a practicable way of utilizing the seal 

 carcasses and of thus making the fur-seal service still more of a 

 revenue producer to the Government. The difiiculties connected 



