422 RESULTS. 



the Northwest coast, and the Copper Island skins. I can always dis- 

 tinguish the skins of these classes. The Northwest coast skins are 

 most easily told by the very great proportion of females contained in 

 any given lot. Among the Alaska and Copper skins I have hardly 

 ever seen a female skin. 



I was sent to New York from Albany a few days ago by Mr. George 

 II. Treadwell, with instructions to go through a 



John J. Phelan, p. 520. certain lot of seal-skins, which I understand he 

 had recently bought in Victoria, and to find out 

 how many of these skins were taken from female animals. I have spent 

 four days in doing this, working about seven hours a day. 



There were several men who unpacked the skins and laid them before 

 me, so that all of my time was spent in examining the individual skins. 

 The lot contained 3,550 skins. I found that, with the possible excep- 

 tion of two dried ones, they were taken from animals this year; they 

 were a part of what is known as the spring catch. I know this to be 

 the case by the fresh appearance of the blubber and of the skin as a 

 whole. This affords a sure way of telling whether the skin has lain in 

 salt all winter or whether it has been recently salted. I personally in- 

 spected each one of these skins by itself and kept an accurate record 

 of the result. I divided the skins according to the three following 

 classes: Males, females, and pups. In the class of pups I placed only 

 the skins of animals less than- 2 years of age, but without reference 

 to sex. 



I found in the lot 395 males, 2,167 females, and OSS pups. Leaviug out 

 of account the pups, the percentage of females was therefore about 82. 



The great majority of what I classed as male skins were taken from 

 animals less than 3 years of age. There was not a single wig in the 

 lot. On the other hand, nearly all of the female skins were those of 

 full-grown animals. On every skin which I classed among the females 

 I found teats, with bare spots about them on the fur side. iSuch bare 

 spots make it absolutely certain that these teats were those of female 

 skins. 



With regard to the pup skins, I will say that I did not undertake to 

 determine whether they were males or females, because they had a thick 

 coat of blubber, which, in the case of an animal less than 2 years old, 

 makes it very hard to tell the sex. 



All of the skins that I examined were either shot or speared. I did 

 not keep a close count, but I am of the opinion that about 75 per cent 

 of them were shot. 



The result of the examination is about what I had expected it would 

 be. The figures only confirm what I have always noticed in a general 

 way, that nearly nine-tenths of the skins in any shipment of Northwest 

 coast skins are those of female animals. 



DESTRUCTION OF FEMALE SEALS. 



TESTIMONY OF PELAGIC SEALERS. 



Page 205 of The Case. 



(See also Destruction of prtgnant females iuxA Destruction of nursing females.) 



We cruised around in the sea till the latter part of October, when we 

 started for home. Our entire catch for that sea- 



Chas. Adair, j>. 401. son was 1,270 skins. I think we got on an aver- 

 age about two males to ten females. 



