THE FUR-SEAL ISLANDS OF ALASKA. 81 



"crock" the whitest linen when moistened ; and it will wear the weather, as I have myself seen it on the form of a 

 sea-captain's wife, for six and seven successive seasons, without showing the least bit of dimness or raggedness. I 

 speak of dyeing alone ; I might say the earlier steps of uuhairing in which the over-hair is deftly combed out aud off 

 from the skin, heated to such a point that the roots of the fur are not loosened, while those to the coarser hirsute 

 growth are. If this is not done with perfect uniformity, the fur will never lay smooth, no matter how skillfully 

 dyed; it will always have a rumpled, ruffled look. Therefore, the hastily-dyed sacques are cheap; and are 

 enhanced in order of value just as the labor of dyeing is expended upon them. 



Gradation of the fur of Callorhinus ursinus. — The gradation of the fur of Callorhinus may, perhaps, 

 be best presented in the following manner : 



1 YEAR OLD 6: well GROWN: at July 1 of every season : 



FUR fully developed as to uniform length and thickness and evenness of distribution ; it is lighter in color, and softer in texture, 

 than hereafter, during the life of the animal ; average weight of skin as removed by the sealers from the carcass, 4i pounds. 



2 YEAR OLD 5 : well GROWN : at June 1 of every season : 



FUB fully developed as to even length and thickness and uniformity of distribution ; it has now attained the darker buff and fawn 

 color, sometimes almost brown, which it retains throughout the rest of the life of the animal ; it is slightly and perceptibly firmer and 

 stiffer than it was last year, not being at all "fluffy" as in the yearling dress now; average weight of skin, as taken from the body, 

 IU pounds. 



3 Y'EAR OLD 5 : well grown: at June 1 of every season: 



FUB fully developed, as to even length, but a shade longer over the shoulders, where the incipient "wig" is forming; otherwise 

 perfectly uniform in thickness aud even distribution; this is the very best grade of pelt which the seal affords during its life ; average 

 weight of skin, as taken from the body, 7 pounds. 



4 Y'EAR OLD 6: WELL GROWN: at June 1 of every season : 



EUR fully developed ::s to even length, except a decided advance in length and perceptible stiffness over the shoulders, in the "wig"; 

 otherwise perfectly uniform in thickness and even distribution ; this grade is almost as safe to take, and as good as is the three-year- 

 old; average weight of skin, as removed, 1',' pounds. 



5 Y'EAR OLD 5 : well GROWN: at May to June l of every season: 



FUR fully developed, but much longer and decidedly coarser in the "wig" region; otherwise, uniform in thickness aud distribution; 

 the coarseness of the fur over the shoulders and disproportionate length thereon destroys that uniformity necessary for rating A 1 iu 

 the market; in tact it does not pay to take this skin; average weight, 16 pounds. 



6 Y'EAR OLD 5 : WELL GROWN ; from May to June 1 of every sta^ni : 



FUE fully developed, still longer aud stiffer in the "wig" regiou, with a slightly thinner distribution over the post-dorsal region, 

 and shorter; this skin is never taken — it is profitless; average weight, 25 pouuds. 



7 Y'EAR OLD AND UPWARD 5 : from May to June I of every season : 



EUR fully developed, but very unevenly distributed, being relatively scant and short over the posterior dorsal region, while it is 

 twice as long and very coarse in the covering to the shoulders especially and the neck and chest. Skins are valueless to the fur trade; 

 weights, 45 to (id pounds. 



The analysis, as above, is a brief epitome of the entire subject; only, it should be added that the female skins 

 are as finely furred as are the best grades of the males; and also, that age does not cause the quality of their 

 pelage to deteriorate, which it does to so marked an extent in the males. But, taking them into consideration is 

 entirely out of the question, and ought to be so forever. 



The foetal coat of the pup is composed of coarse black hair alone, the underwool not at all developed, when 

 this is shed and the new coat put on in September aud October, it is furred and haired as a yearling, which I 

 diagnose above; this pelage has, however, no commercial value. 



All the skins taken by the company for the last eight years have been prime skins, in the fair sense of the 

 term ; but, all the seal-skin saeques made therefrom have not been of the first quality, by any means. 



In order that the rules and regulations and the law governing and protecting the interests of the government 

 on these islands may be fully understood, I embody them in the appendix. 



Oil of the fur-seal. — I have spoken of the blubber, and as I mentioned it, doubtless the thought will 

 occur, what becomes of the oil contained therein ; is it all allowed to waste .' A most natural query, and one that 

 1 made instantly after my first arrival on the islands. I remember seeing 40 or 50 hogsheads and tierces headed up 

 and standing near the foot of the village hill, in which were many thousands of gallons of fur-seal oil. I asked the 

 agent of the company when he was going to ship it; he shrugged his shoulders aud said: "As soon as it will pay." 



I made, during the season, careful notes as to the amount of oil represented by the blubber exposed on the 

 100,000 young male seal carcasses, and I found that the two and three year old " holluschickie" bodies as left by the 

 skinner would not clean up on an average more than a half a gallon of oil : while the four year-old males would 

 make nearly a gallon. It should be remembered that quite 1 a large portion of the seal's lid is taken off with the 

 skin, as its presence thereon is necessary to that proper amalgamation and preservation by the salt when it is applied 

 to its fresh surface in the " keuches"; hence the amount of oil represented by these carcasses every year is not much 

 over 60,000 gallons. 



Condition of the fur-seal oil market. — When among the seal-oil dealers in New York city, during the 

 month of May, in 1870, I took these notes with me and investigated the standing and the demand for fur seal 

 oil iu their market and the markets of the world ; and the statements of these oil experts and dealers were all 

 in accord as to the striking inferiority of fur-seal oil, compared with the hair seal and sea-elephant oil, which 

 they dealt in largely. The inferiority of the fur seal oil is due primarily to the offensive odor of the blubber, which 



