1 8 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



seals during 1914. All the islands are the breeding resorts of myriads of sea birds. 

 Their great numbers and the protection which they enjoy during the breeding season 

 make them fearless and confiding, and they afford an exhibition of bird life which can 

 scarcely be surpassed anywhere in the world. 



VEGETATION. 



The three larger islands are remarkable for the abundance and beauty of their 

 floral display. The flowering plants include a great variety of subarctic species, which 

 from early June until late August beautify the grassy slopes and plains. There are 

 also many ferns and mosses and lichens, and a variety of grasses. No trees whatever 

 grow on the islands, and the shrubs are represented only by a few creeping willows and 

 dwarfed heath-like plants. The two smaller islands are devoid of vegetation with the 

 exception of a few grasses and one or two insignificant herbs. 



CLIMATE. 



The range in temperature is very slight, the thermometer seldom rising above 50° 

 F. in summer, and in winter ranging usually between 20° and 25° and rarely falHng 

 lower than 12°. There is much precipitation, usually falling in the form of drizzly 

 rains or light snows. Chilly fogs are of almost constant occurrence during summer 

 and the winds are at other seasons sometimes very violent. In winter the pack ice 

 from the Arctic frequently closes in about the shores. 



CHARACTER AND HABITS OF THE FUR SEAL IN BRIEF. 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 



The Alaska fur seal {Callorhinus alascanus), although similar in general appear- 

 ance, has certain characters by which it is recognized by naturalists as distinct from 

 the seals inhabiting the Russian and Japanese islands lying near the coast of Asia. 

 It has a range peculiar to itself and is not associated at any season of the year with 

 the other species of fur seals. With a few allied species, it is remarkable among large 

 animals for its highly gregarious and polygamous nature and its habit of performing a 

 long annual migration. It comes to land only in summer for the purpose of breeding 

 and rearing its young; the remainder of the year is spent entirely at sea. It is an 

 animal of exceedingly strong instincts and relatively small intelligence. The disparity 

 in size between the sexes is very great, the adult male being nearly or quite five times 

 as heavy as the female. Moreover, the male matures more slowly than the female, 

 and thus it results that seals of different ages and sexes are different in appearance 

 and to some extent in habit. The names by which the different ages and classes of 

 seals have come to be known, therefore, are somewhat peculiar. The breeding males 

 are bulls, the females are cows, while the young are pups. The males just approach- 

 ing full maturity are called half-bulls, while the younger males are termed bachelors. 

 The breeding ground is a rookery, and the place resorted to by the bachelors is a 



hauling ground. 



RANGE. 



Practically all the individuals of the herd during some part of the season from 

 May until December make the Pribilof Islands their home. The winter and early 



