ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 381 



In regard to the probable number of breeding bulls ou each rookery 

 in 1872-1874, I made the following note and tabulation : 



St. George Island, North Bookery, July 12, 1873. 

 I thiuk now that this is a safe and equitable basis for beginning my calcnlation. 

 <- * « Every 100 feet of sea margin will have 10 bulls on it, and for every 100 feet of 

 depth from the margin we will have a bull for every 7 feet of that depth. * * * 

 They fight so desperately on the sea margin that the average is widest there, uniformly, 

 then it will average up right back, through, 7 by 10 feet, very honestly. * * » 



Basis for estimation of lulls in 1S72-1874, with an average of 15 cows, 15 pups, and 5 



nubile females to each hull. 



The reef has 4,016 feet sea margin with 1 bull on every 10 feet of sea margin, 150 

 feet average depth, and 1 bull for every 7 feet of average depth, which gives 402 

 bulls by 20i bulls, or about 8,642 bulls. On this basis and method of calculation, 

 therefore, the rookeries have approximately as follows : 



St. Paul Island : BuUs. 



Reef 8,642 



Garbotch 5,207 



Lagoon 580 



Lukannon 4, 880 



Keetavie 4,730 



Tolstoi 6,450 



Zapadnie, upper wing, 2,814; lower wing, 9,700 12, 514 



Polavina 8, 600 



Novashoshuah 34, 006 



Total bulls for St. Paul 85,609 



St. George Island : 



Zapadnie 599 



Starry Artel 975 



North 2,302 



Little Eastern 112 



Great Eastern 714 



Total bulls for St. George 4,702 



Or, in round numbers, a grand total of 90,000 breeding bulls on the 

 rookeries of both islands. 



The wide and scanty hauling of the bulls on these breeding grounds 

 for this season of 1890, together with the strange massing of immense 

 harems around single bulls, while the others immediately around have 

 no part in the service, render such a tabulation on the basis of 1872-1874, 

 as above given, quite out of the question as a measure of just contrast. 

 I therefore will not attempt it, since the comparison can not be well 

 made in this respect. [My figures for 1890, give 11,708 bulls for St. Paul ; 

 800 for St. George.] 



In concluding my observations under this head, it is, perhaps, not 

 superfluous to anticipate and reply to the following generalizations 

 which will naturally arise to the mind of the general reader. 



It seems from the foregoing surveys, that at the close of the season of 

 1890, there are still existing upon the Pribilov rookeries, 959,000 seals, 

 old and young and paps of this year'sbirth, or about one-third of the whole 

 number of breeding seals and young recorded as beingthere in 1872-1874. 

 How, then, can they be so near the danger of extermination, even if 

 they are in danger of it? 



The explanation is as follows : 



(1) There is but 1 breeding bull now upon the rookery ground, where 

 there were 15 in 1872; and the bulls of to-day are nearly all old, and 

 many positively imj^otent. 



(2) This decrease of virile male life on the breeding grounds causes 

 the normal ratio of 15 or 20 females to a male, as in 1872-1874, now to 



