FUR-SEAL HERD OF ALASKA. 



217 



ernment agents and in the report of the 

 London fur sales, show conchisively that 

 there has been no systematic 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 statements 

 published bv Mr. Elliott in his report of 

 1873. I confess that I quote Mr. Elliott 

 with some hesitancy, because, as I wrote 

 the honorable 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 subsequent 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 arrive in July and 

 August after the rookery system has been 

 broken up, as is well shown in photo- 

 graphs. The youngest seals in the harems 

 are 3-year-olds. 



I am, faithfully, yours, 



F. A. Lucas. 



Hon. Edward W. Townsend, 

 Committee on Foreif/n Affairs, 



House of Representatives, 

 Washington, D. C. 



[Note. — This letter confessing the 

 strange "scientific" ignorance of the 

 writer of the fact that those nubiles do 

 appear on the breeding rookeries when 

 the breeding season is not broken up, 

 and only appear then, is a sad revelation 

 of nonsense on the part of Lucas as an 

 investigator. No breeding of any kind 

 takes place after that date or before, viz, 

 July 4-25 annually, to any noteworthy 

 extent; none whatever after August 1.— 

 H. W. E.] 



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

 1912.) 



St. Paul Island, 



July U, 1912. 

 Gorbatch: 



There are six little virgin cows in the 

 two large harems under Rock 12. 



(U. S. typed notes of Geo. A. Clark, p. 

 256.) 



