EXAMINATION OF PELAGIC CATCH OP 1892. 421 



animal within four months last past, and that they are of the class of 

 skins known as Russian seals, and they belong to the herd having its 

 rookery on the Commander Islands and the Bobbins Bank. 



The lot contains 320 skins of the fur-seal male (mostly matured) ; 105 

 skins of the fur-seal gray pup under one year of age (sex doubtful); 

 1,745 skins of the fur-seal cow (mostly matured). From the shape of 

 the latter most all of these cows must have been heavy with pup, and 

 the same cut out of them when captured. 



On the 26th instant I examined fifteen salted fur seal skins ex-schooner 

 Rose Sparks from the North Pacific Ocean, and found the same to be 

 fresh skins taken off the animal within two months. They were killed 

 in the North Pacific, and that they are of the skins known as the North- 

 west Coast seals, and belonged to the herd which have their rookery on 

 the Pribilov Islands. 



The lot contained 2 skins of the fur-seal (matured); 2 skins of the 

 fur-seal gray pup under one year of age (sex doubtful) ; 11 skins of the 

 fur-seal cow (matured). And from the shape of the latter most all of 

 these cows must have been heavy with pup, and some cut out of them 

 when captured. 



As a result of the work I have performed for so many years I am 

 able to distinguish, without difficulty, the skin of 

 a female seal from that of a male seal. There are John J. Phelan, p. 519. 

 generally several ways in winch I can tell them 



apart. One of the surest ways consists in seeing whether any teats 

 can be found. On a female skin above the age of 2 years teats can 

 practically always be discovered: when the animal is over 3 years old, 

 even a person who is not an expert at handling skins can discover two 

 prominent ones on each side of almost every skin. This is because af- 

 ter the age of 3, and often even after 2, almost all females have been in 

 pup. There are also teats on a male skin, but they are only very 

 slightly developed. When the fur is matted, as it is in salted fur-seal 

 skins, the male teats can not be found, but the female teats of skins 

 more than 2 years old can be found under all circumstances. 



1 have been able to test all my observations as to the teats on salted 

 fur-seal skins by following these skins through the various processes 

 which I have described. During these processes the skins become 

 thinner and thinner, and the teats more and more noticeable, and at an 

 early stage in the dressing they must be wholly removed. There are 

 other ways of distinguishing the skins of the two sexes. I will state a 

 few of them. 



A female seal has a narrower head than a male seal. By the word 

 "head" I mean here to include the part of the body from the head 

 down to the middle of the back. I believe all men who have handled 

 the skins of both sexes have noticed this point. 



Then, again, when the whiskers have not been cut off they generally 

 afford a safe means of distinguishing the sexes. Male whiskers are 

 much more brittle and of a darker color than those of the female ani- 

 mal. When the male seal is over G years old it begins to have a mane, 

 and for this reason itis after that age called a wig. 



Finally, it is geuerally possible for me to tell the skins of the two 

 sexes apart by just taking a look at them or feeling them. I suppose 

 I can do this because I have been at the business so long that I am an 

 expert in it. 



The chief classes of seal-skins that I have handled are the Alaska, 



