46 REPOKT Oi>' THE COMMISSIONER OF I'lriHERlES. 



As a net result of the sales of fur-seal skins in the fiscal year IDiJl 

 there will have been deposited in the Treasury of the United States 

 the sum of $341,543.46. In addition to this amount the sum of $123,- 

 058.42 has been set aside for payment to Great Britain and Japan as 

 their share of skins to which they are entitled under the North Pacific 

 Sealing Convention of 1911. 



FOXES AND REINDEER. 



A valuable natural asset on the Pribilof Islands are the herds of 

 blue foxes. The animals have to be held in check, and the taking of a 

 certain number of pelts each winter is desirable. Under the plan in 

 effect on St. George Island, involving the systematic feeding of the 

 foxes during the winter on preserved seal carcasses, the herd has in- 

 creased steadily and further improvement may be expected. 



The foxing operations in the winter of 1920-21 were most satis- 

 factory. Blue foxes to the number of 1,125 were taken for their skins, 

 together with 14 foxes in the white phase. This is the largest num- 

 ber of foxes taken since 1892-93, when 1,301 skins were reported by 

 the lessees of the islands. 



During the past winter 240 pairs of the best blue foxes entering 

 the large trapping inclosure on St. George Island were released as 

 breeders. 



The fox skins taken in the season of 1919-20, numbering 901 blues 

 and 37 whites, were sold at public auction in St. Louis on February 

 21, 1921. The price realized was $80,699, an average of $88.12 for 

 blues and $35 for whites. 



The introduction of reindeer on the Pribilof Islands in 1911 has 

 proved very successful. The original stock consisted of 40 animals. 

 The most recent computation indicated 192 on St. Paul Island and 

 125 on St. George Island, or 34 more than the number reported for 

 the previous j'ear. These figures do not include 53 animals used for 

 food purposes during the intervening period. The herds are becom- 

 ing more and more valuable as a splendid source of fresh meat for 

 both the whites and natives. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 

 SEMICENTENNIAL OF THE BUREAU. 



The Bureau of Fisheries attained the fiftieth year of its existence 

 on February 9, 1921, having had its origin in a joint resolution 

 passed by Congress on February 9, 1871. 



At the time of its establishment, and for many years thereafter, 

 the Bureau was an independent commission and its duties were 

 largely investigatory. Scientific investigation, the initial function 

 imposed on the service by law, has remained a prominent branch of 

 the work, recognized as an essential aid to fish culture and the fish- 

 eries. From time to time in the early years Congress imposed new 

 responsibilities and duties, and the growth was rapid. The collec- 

 tion of statistics of the commercial fisheries, which was undertaken 

 at an early date to meet a pressing national need, soon expanded 

 into a comprehensive study of all phases of the fisheries which 

 reached a high degree of progress in the second decade of the 



