FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA IN 1910. 19 



died from natural causes, of which there is no evidence, they must 

 be in existence somewhere as 2-year-olds. Not having appeared on 

 land during the summer, the natural inference must be that they 

 were in the water and did not haul on land. 



That there were in existence small seals which did not haul during 

 the summer might be indicated by the fact that in the killing on 

 August 10 the number of small seals turned away was entirely 

 out of proportion to the usual number occurring in drives during 

 the season. The absence of these small seals during the summer 

 was a matter of remark, and their reappearance at the last drive of 

 the season also was noted with interest. 



In treating of this matter it is desired to show that notwithstanding 

 the fact that of seals driven a greater percentage killed appears on 

 the record for this year as compared with last, no smaller seals than 

 usual were killed and not as large seals were taken as previously. 

 The increased percentage is the result, first, of the absence of 2-year- 

 old marked bachelors present in former years, and secondly, to a 

 failure of young nonkillable seals to haul on land in their usual num- 

 bers during the summer. 



WEIGHTS OF SKINS TAKEN. 



Of the 10,752 skins taken on St. Paul, 10,749 were weighed. Of 

 these 70 were under 5 pounds and 48 over 8^ pounds. On St. George, 

 2,834 skins were weighed, of which 20 were under 5 pounds and 11 

 over 8£. Of the overweight skins on St. Paul, nearly all were taken 

 in a food killing on Sea Lion Rock, and before weighing were immersed 

 in sea water until they were saturated. In this condition each carried 

 several pounds of water, increasing their weight correspondingly. 

 Had they been weighed dry, or even with the usual quantity of moist- 

 ure, few of them would have been above. the prescribed limit. 



It is not possible to avoid wetting the seals taken on Sea Lion Rock, 

 neither is it permissible to salt the skins without weighing. It is 

 wholly undesirable also to alter the statistics of weights in such man- 

 ner as to attempt to compensate for excess due to the presence of 

 water or other foreign substances in. the fur. The weights therefore 

 have been recorded as taken, but due allowance must be made for 

 conditions which change the weights and which have no relation to 

 the size of the skins. 



The skins that were underweight were likewise taken mainly in 

 food drives, at a time when the natives were eager for fresh meat and 

 when they were restricted to killing seals having skins under 7 pounds. 

 With the necessity of rejecting all the females and all the larger males 

 from the food drives, it can readily be appreciated that the tendency 

 of the natives is to let few of the small males escape, even if the skins 

 weigh a few ounces less than 5 pounds. 



