FUR-SEAL HERD OF ALASKA. 



213 



Lucas says that the weights 

 show that no yearhng skins are 

 taken : 



American Museum 



OF Natural History, 

 Neic York, Fehniary 18, 1912. 



Dear Sir: Noticing your remark on 

 page 2168 of the Congressional Record 

 for February 14, I take the liberty of say- 

 ing that the weights of the se&,lskins 

 (catches 1909 and 1910), as published by 

 the Government agents and in the 

 report of the London fur sales, show 

 conclusively that there has been no sys- 

 tematic killing of undersize fur seals — 

 that probably none is under 2 years of 

 age. 



As you doubtless are aware, the largest 

 seals of any given year may be, and fre- 

 quently are, larger than seals born the 

 year previous, so that there is an overlap- 

 ping of sizes and weights. 



I base the above statements on my own 

 observations, on the reports of Mr. 

 Judge and Mr. Lembkey, and on the state- 

 ments published by Mr. Elliott in his 

 report of 1873. I confess that I quote 

 Mr. Elliott with some hesitancy, because, 

 as I wrote the Hon. Mr. Sulzer, he 

 does not know the difference between a 

 2-year-old and a 3-year-old seal. My 

 reason for this statement is that subse- 

 quent to 1890 Mr. Elliott published a 

 "field diagi'am," in which he includes 

 certain seals marked "2-year-olds," or 

 "nubiles." Two-year-old females do not 

 occur on the rookeries and very few are 

 on the islands in June. The bulk of 

 them arriv-e in July and August after the 

 rookery system has been broken up, as is 

 well shown in photographs. The young- 

 est seals in the harems are 3-year-olds. 

 I am, faithfully yours, 



F. A. Lucas. 



Hon. Edward W. Townsend, 

 Committee on Foreign Affairs, 



House of Representatives, 



Washington, D. C. 



Lucas swears that the weight 

 of the skin determines its size: 



Mr. Elliott. Yes: * * * Now, Dr. 

 Lucas, when you take the skin off of that 

 yearling seal, and salt it down, how long 

 is it? 



Dr. Lucas. I do not know. I have 

 never measured a skin after salting. 



Mr. Elliott. You never measured it 

 before salting, did you? 



Dr. Lucas. I never measured the skin 

 before salting. 



Mr. Elliott. Neither before or after. 

 Then how do you know that in the kill- 

 ing up there they are no.t killing yearling 

 seals? 



But cross-examination makes 

 him admit that he does not know 

 what the weights are: 



(Hearing No. 14, pp, 948, 949, July 25, 

 1912.) 



Mr. Elliott. Never mind the female. 

 Did you measure the skin and weigh it? 



Dr. Lucas. I did not. 



Mr. Elliott. Nowhere in your table is 

 there a record of a "gi-een" skin weight? 



Dr. Lucas. Not in my table. No. 



Mr. Elliott. And your record stands, 

 of course. 



Dr. Lucas. This record as printed 

 stands. 



Mr. Elliott. Yes; I find no fault with 

 that record, either. It is exactly as I 

 published it nearly 40 years before. Now, 

 Dr. Lucas, when you take the skin off of 

 that yearling seal, and salt it down, how 

 long is it? 



Dr. Lucas. I do not know. I have 

 never measured a skin after salting. 



Mr. Elliott. You never measured it 

 before salting, did you? 



Dr. Lucas. I never measured the skin 

 before salting. 



Mr. Elliott. Neither before or after. 

 Then how do you know that in the killing 

 up there they are not killing yearling 

 seals? 



Dr. Lucas. By the weight of the skins. 



Mr. Elliott. How do you know that 

 the weight determines the size? 



Dr. Lucas. The size determines the 

 weight. 



Mr. Elliott. Does it? 



Dr. Lucas. The size determines the 

 weight. (Hearing No. 12, pp. 725, 726, 

 Mav 16. 1912.) 



Proof instantly procUiced that 

 it does not: 



There are 134 skins thus listed above, 

 every one of which is not to exceed 34^ 

 inches long. If those small skins had all 

 been properly skinned, no one of them 

 would weicjh more than 5 pounds green 

 and three-fourths of them would not ex- 

 ceed 4^ pounds. Yet we find that they 

 all have been so loaded with blubber, 

 when fresh skinned, that with the ex- 

 ception of 18 skins, they are weighing as 

 as much and even more than properly 

 skinned 2-year old seal pelts do, and 

 many of them weigh into the 3 year-old 

 class. 



