UTILIZATION" OF THE SKINS OF AQUATIC AKIMALS. 299 



price in the markets, usuall}" about 70 per cent of the price of the 

 latter. The pelt is also less porous than that of the Alaskan skins, 

 this being- especially noticeable in the process of working- them pre- 

 paratory to leathering. It is far more difficult to unhair a Copper 

 skin, as the membrane is harder and stiffer and the hair more brittle. 



Since 1871 the Russian Government has leased the sealing rights on 

 the Commander Islands under conditions similar to those in the Pribilof 

 lease. Following this, the number of skins secured averaged between 

 35,000 and 40,000 for upward of twent}^ 3^ears, but during the last six 

 years it has greatly decreased. 



The skins from Robben Island, in Okhotsk Sea, were f ormerh" classed 

 separately from those obtained on the Commander Islands, and were 

 regarded as inferior, owing to the greater difficulty in removing the 

 hair and the lighter color of the fur. Improved methods of dressing 

 and dyeing have lessened this difference, and within the last fifteen 

 j^ears they have been combined with those caught on Copper Island 

 and included in the term ''Copper skins." 



The Northwest skins are obtained in the North Pacific Ocean and 

 the adjacent seas, and are the product of the so-called pelagic fishery, 

 which has occupied so much attention in diplomatic correspondence 

 and in the public press during the last twelve years. Previous to 

 1881 the output of this fisherj^ never exceeded 10,000 skins; then it 

 increased until 1894, when the catch was 141,11:3 skins, and since then 

 it has greatl}' decreased, the product in 190(.) being 38,923. Notwith- 

 standing the fact that the Northwest skins are from the same herd as 

 the Alaska skins, they are of much less value, many of them being 

 taken out of season, when the fur is poor and the pelt stagy. As a 

 rule they are not so well cured as the skins taken on the islands, and 

 have man}^ raw spots, a result of their being salted in the foul air of 

 the ship's hold under indifferent supervision. They are readily distin- 

 guishable from the Alaskan and Copper skins by the fact that they 

 are all pierced by bullet, buckshot, or spear, furnishing another 

 reason for diminished value. 



The Lobos Island fur-seal, at present the most numerous of all the 

 southern members of this family, is obtained principally from Lobos 

 Island, at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, which is owned and con- 

 trolled by the Republic of Uruguay. It is of a greenish or yellow^ish- 

 brown color, with sides of a darker brown, and the fur is comparatively 

 long. The pelt is thin, rather spongy, and easy to work. Since 1825 

 the right to take seals on the island has been leased under a system of 

 regulations resembling somewhat those in force on the Pribilof and 

 Commander islands. The annual product is from 15,000 to 20,000. 

 The total number of skins obtained since 1873 approximates 415,000, 

 valued at $4,000,000, a remarkable output for an island covering less 

 than 1 square mile in area. The rookeries on this island are the 

 only ones in all the southern seas which have been protected, and they 



