84 FISHEKY AND FUE INDUSTRIES OF ALASKA IN 1912. 



The tags, for convenient use, were each provided with about 18 

 inches of twine, doubled in the middle and looped through a hole 

 in the tag. They were next arranged severally on wires, 200 to each 

 wire. These tags, as many as might be needed, thus could be carried 

 about to be affixed to skins without danger of disarranging the 

 sequence of numbers. 



On St. Paul, during the season ending August 11, 1912, each skin 

 was given a numbered tag beginning with no. 1 and running con- 

 secutively to no. 2880, which last number represented the total 

 number of skins taken. Such skins as will be taken on St. Paul 

 hereafter will be numbered from 2881 consecutively until each of 

 the skins taken has been furnished with a tag. Through a misunder- 

 standing of instructions by the assistant agent in charge on St. George 

 Island only the skins taken on that island during the regular killing 

 season (July) were tagged. These were 446 in number and received 

 tag numbers Gl to G446, both inclusive. 



MARKING, WEIGHING, AND MEASURING SEALSKINS. 



The tags were attached to the skins after the latter had been brought 

 to the salt house. There the skins were placed on one of the outside 

 platforms and about six men engaged in the work of tagging them. 

 This was done by tymg the 18-inch loop of string attached to the tag 

 through one of the flipper holes. The tagged skins were then carried 

 into the salt house and placed on a large table, care being taken 

 that the skin should not come into contact with salt until after its 

 green weight was taken. On the table with the skins was a small 

 pair of beam scales, with a scoop on one side and counterpoise and 

 loose iron weights on the other, and with a brass notched plate in 

 front, graduated to quarter ounces and provided with a movable 

 poise. The scales were manufactured by Fairbanks-Morse, and were 

 calibrated with weights furnished by the subtreasury in San Francisco. 

 To facilitate weighing, each skin on the table was folded up into a 

 compact bundle with its tag hanging outside. A series of sheets of 

 paper serially numbered also had been prepared. 



In weighing, each skin was taken up from the table by one man 

 who announced the number on its tag to the man who was to record 

 the weights. The skin was then laid on the scoop and the scale 

 carefully balanced by a third person, who announced the weight 

 of the skin. This weight as announced was written down on the 

 serially numbered sheets in the space opposite the proper tag number. 

 After this number was recorded and checked back, the green skin 

 was for the first time tossed aside upon the loose salt. When all 

 the skins in the killing had been weighed, they were salted in kenches. 

 After five days they were taken out of the kenches, examined on a 



