182 



FUR-SEAL HERD OF ALASKA. 



weights (leal with Ihe f^kin in the condi- 

 tion in which it arrives, freed of mo8t of 

 the salt about which it is wrapped, a lo^s, 

 compared with the fresh weight, almost 

 without exception, will appear." (Hear- 

 ing No. 14, pp. 974, 975. July 29, 1912.) 



Evermann and his "scientific" 

 associates declare that the fur- 

 seal breeding nuckis of 50,000 

 cows will require eight years in 

 which to double itself: 



Mr. Elliott. Then, with this testimony 

 in his hands, Mr. W. I. Lembkey and his 

 associates in the Bureau of Fisheries went 

 before the House Committee on Foreign 

 Affairs, January 3, 1912, and the following 

 statement was then made that day to this 

 committee by Mr. Lembkey, to wit (pp. 

 40, 41, hearings on H. R. 16571, Jan. 3, 4, 

 1912): 



"The Chairman . Assuming, Mr. Lemb- 

 key, that there was a closed season on the 

 Pribilof herd for a period of 10 years, what, 

 in your opinion, would be the number in 

 the herd at the expiration of that time? 



"Mr. Lembkey. I regret to state that 

 the increase would not be as phenomenal 

 as has been held out before this and other 

 committees. As nearly as I can approxi- 

 mate it, the increase in seal life which 

 would result from an absolute cessation of 

 pelagic sealing would equal 100 per cent 

 every nine years. That is to say, the herd 

 would double itself every nine years. I 

 am willing to say eight years. We will 

 say the herd will double itself every eight 

 years. Now, if we should start in 1911 

 with approximately 50,000 breeding fe- 

 males, in 1919 we would have 100,000 

 breeding females, representing an increase 

 of 100 per cent within a period of eight 

 years. During the next eight years, how- 

 ever, the 100,000 breeding females would 

 increase to 200,000, representing a net in- 

 crease in the period of 16 years of 150,000 

 breeding females, and, of course, the next 

 eight years would see 400,000 breeding 

 females in the herd. While they would 

 increase at the same ratio, the numerical 

 increase would be much gi'eater as the 

 herd became larger. 



"The Chairman. That applies to both 

 the males and females? 



Elliott follows with table of in- 

 crease, which declares that 50,000 

 breeding nucleus will double itself 

 in five years, and that total, 

 100,000, will double itself in the 

 next four years, and so on : 



Mr. Elliott. As Mr. Lembkey did not 

 finish his statement in general, and was 

 followed immediately by Dr. Evermann, 

 I did not get in my answer to it until the 

 next day's session . In due time I reached 

 it, and took this particular question up as 

 follows; see pages 98 to 101, inclusive, 

 hearings on H. R. 16571. Now, gentle- 

 men, I am going to read this to you and 

 ask that you interrupt me, and where you 

 think I am not clear, for here is the crux 

 of the business: 



"I will now show you a table. Exhibit 

 F, which will surprise you. Yesterday 

 the representative of the Bureau of Fish- 

 eries, and the scientists behind them, told 

 you it will take eight years to double the 

 50,000 females now surviving. You heard 

 that statement that it would take eight 

 years, and then another eight years would 

 ensue before we had 200,000 cows, ^^^ly, 

 the assumption was so transparently 

 foolish that even the chairman, who had 

 never given it a thought, at once began to 

 pick it to pieces. Let me submit to you a 

 statement of annual increase from a 

 nucleus of 50,000 breeding female seals on 

 the Pribilof rookeries, which will follow a 

 complete cessation of killing male seals 

 thereon, provided that that rest dates 

 from February 1, 1912, or from and after 

 the passage of this act, and is not broken 

 until the 1st of P^ebruary, 1928, being a 

 close time of 15 years. Tliis suspension of 

 all such killing as above cited will enable 

 the only power to operate, which is the 

 natural law governing this life, and which 

 alone can effect that restoration, and full 

 restoration, to a safe annual rate of increase 

 which will permit an annual killing indefi- 

 nitely into the future of from 60,000 to 

 80,000 choice surplus male seals on and 



