92 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



the free use of a pressure hose. The bhibber is removerl from the 

 pelts by dull, curved knives, the operation being called blubbering. 

 The skins are then run through a large wringer to extract surplus 

 water and are then packed in salt for curing. 



The blubbering of the skins before they are salted makes it pos- 

 sible to skin the seals in a more expeditious manner. Formerly the 

 skins had to be removed by cutting away every portion with a knife. 

 They could not be pulled off without leaving too much blubber on 

 the pelts to permit their being cured in salt. AVlien the pelts are 

 blubbered 'before they are salted, however, the amount of blubber 

 adhering to the skins at the time of removal from the animals 

 is immaterial. Skins that are to be blubbered before salting are 

 now removed by pulling them off the carcasses after a few cuts have 

 been made along the lines that become the edges of the pelt, thus 

 eliminating the former more or less frequent and practically un- 

 avoidable cutting of pelts. Another advantage claimed for the 

 blubbering of skins before salting is that the time required for 

 curing is greatly reduced, thus insuring complete curing before any 

 decay starts. 



In 1922 there were washed on St. Paul Island 15,752 skins. Of 

 these 15,748 were blubbered and 4 were placed in salt without blub- 

 bering for experimental j)urposes. The washing and blubbering of 

 sealskins was not undertaken on St. George Island in 1922. It was 

 thought best to develop the work thoroughly on St. Paul Island 

 first. 



The census of the Pribilof fur-seal herd was again taken by Ed- 

 ward C. Johnston in 1922. His report is printed in full on pages 

 111 to 118. The two counting toAvers used on Eeef rookery in 1921 

 and nine more erected in the spring of 1922 — two on Little Zapadni 

 (St. Paul), three on Zapadni (St. Paul), three on Vostochni (St. 

 Paul), and one on Staraya Artil (St. George) — were used. For the 

 first time in a number of years the pups were counted on all the 

 rookeries. Conditions made it impossible to enumerate every pup, 

 but at least 95 per cent of all were actually counted. 



The following is a comparative statement of the numerical 

 strength of the various elements of the herd in the years 1912 to 

 1922, inclusive: 



General comparison of recent censuses of the seal herd on Pribilof Islands. 



