FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY. 77 



BY-PRODUCTS PLANT. 



It was planned to operate the by-products plant, erected on St. 

 Paul Island in 1918 for the reduction of seal carcasses into fertilizer 

 and oil, to its full capacity in the season of 1919. Owing to a num- 

 ber of unforeseen difficulties, however, principally an unavoidable 

 shortage of coal, it was possible to carry on operations for brief 

 periods only. The output, including small quantities prepared in 

 an experimental way in 1918, was transported to Seattle on the 

 U. S. S. Nnnshan in the fall. It consisted of 3,000 gallons of oil and 

 20,568 pounds of fertilizer, known to the trade as "meal." The 

 oil and fertilizer were sold separately, to the highest bidder in each 

 case. Four hundred and fifty gallons No. lA clear and 450 gallons 

 No. 2A clear were sold at $1.50 per gallon, 850 gallons No. 2B crude 

 and 250 gallons No. 3 crude at $1.20, 700 gallons No. IB crude at $1, 

 and 300 gallons foots at 90 cents. The total amount received for the 

 3,000 gallons was $3,640. Tlie 20,568 pounds of fertilizer "meal," 

 sold at $75 per ton, the amount received being $771.30. 



A. Christoffersen, a by-products expert, was employed as special 

 assistant for several months in connection with the work of the 

 plant. 



STUDY OF SEALING METHODS. 



In order that the quality of the sealskins placed on the market 

 by the Government might be improved if possible, the Bureau car- 

 ried on in 1919 a special investigation. William P. Zschorna was 

 specially employed a number of months for the work. He first made 

 a study of the methods of handling sealskins at St. Louis through the 

 various processes involved in their dressing, dyeing, and machining. 

 Skins which had developed defects in the various processes were also 

 noted. The work at St. Louis was then supplemented by field work 

 at the Pribilofs. Attention was given to the methods employed in 

 driving and killing seals and in the curing of the skins. Quite elabo- 

 rate experiments were carried on as to the matter of curing skins, 

 and the particular skins involved were later carefully followed in 

 the course of regular processing at St. Louis. 



The investigation resulted in a number of recommendations, four 

 of which were deemed of sufficient practicability to warrant further 

 study and some actual modification of previous methods for the 

 season of 1920. They were: First, to make drives whenever pos- 

 sible the evening before the kilHng; second, to expend a greater 

 amount of work in handling seals immediately .before killing in order 

 to keep them cool; third, to cool and clean skins before salting by 

 immersing them in salt water for a number of hours; and fourth, to 

 employ more elaborate methods in the salting and curing of skins. 

 The work will be continued in 1920. The proposed plan of washing 

 and cooling skins before salting will be tried out in an exhaustive way. 



The investigation in 1919 also gave attention to the question of 

 how much blubber should be left on sealskins of various sizes. As a 

 result of the experiments of last season, it seems that skins do not 

 cure as thoroughly in places where the blubber is unusually thick. 

 The logical remedy appears to lie in removing part or much of the 

 blubber. It is possible that it may not be feasible to fully remove 

 the blubber on account of the danger of flaying or cutting the skins. 



