REPORT OF BRITISH COJUMISSIONERS. 255 



9, — Observations on Sealing in the Southern Hemisphere in the ycari 1873-76. 



In addition to the notes contained in the published volumes relatiiit; to the "Chal- 

 len<]jer" expedition, Mr. John Murray has been so kind as to furnish tlie following 

 information : 



" 'Challengek' Expedition Office, 45, Frederick Street, 



"Edinburgh, September 2, 1891. 



"Dear Sir: I have been from home for some time, otherwise your letter of tiie 

 2nd July would have been answered long befoi'e this. 



" I fear I have very little information to convey with reference to the seal fisheries 

 of the south. All the fur-seals that we procured were killed on land, and it was the 

 habit of the scal-fishers we met thus to capture all tlieir animals, VVe saw very few 

 seals far frojn their breeding places. We saw only three or four on the southern ice. 

 All the seal-fishers we encountered in the south were from New London, U. S. A. In 

 our time there were no Australians engaged in the trade. There were immense 

 numbers of sea-elephants killed every year on Long Beach at Herd Island. Men 

 wintered there for the purpose of killing them when they came on shore in the enrly 

 spring. We saw the sealers kill twenty-four fur-seals one day by landing on Swain's 

 Islands where they were breeding. 



"We found tliat some fur-sealing was done at the Falkland Islands. You could 

 get information as to the present state of the trade by addressing a letter to Mr. 

 J'enns, Stanley Harbour, Falklauds, or you might address a letter direct to the 

 Governor of the islands. 



"Trusting that you will have had a pleasant trip to the west, yours, &c. 



(Signed) "John Murray." 



10. — Report of Examination of Seal Pup, by Dr. Giinther, F. B. S., British Museum. 



The pup fur-seal submitted to my examination was labelled " Found dead on north- 

 east rookery, St. Panl's Island, 5th August, 1891." 



1. Its length from end of nose to root of tail 23 inches : umbilical cord closed at i ts 

 distal end; milk-dentition perfectly grown. Apparent age of animal about 17 days. 



2. Fur in perfect order; no signs of external or internal mechanical injury. Boily 

 well nourished, with a fair amount of fat in the subcutaneous tissue; no fat about 

 the abdominal organs. 



3. Organs of digestion and other abdominal organs healthy. Stomach entirely 

 empty, with the exception of a smooth black pyramidal pebble, size of a small beau, 

 and of two or three very small corroded pebbles; intestine empty, with some sligljt 

 accumulations of nnicus in various parts. The animal could not have taken any sus- 

 tenance for at least two or three days before its death. 



4. The chest had not been opened, consequently partial decomposition had 

 184 set in before the preservative lluid could act upon the organs. It is therefore 

 difficult to distinguish between pathological signs and post-mortem appear- 

 ances. But so much is certain, that the lungs were in an inflammatory condition, 

 especially at the base of the right lung. The inflammation extended also some way 

 up the wind-pijie, tlie mucous membrane of which was covered with a granular 

 deposit in the portion atlected. 



5. Both the absence of food as well as the condition of the respiratory organs are 

 sufficient to account for the death of the animal; but which of the two was the pri- 

 mary cause jireceding the other is impossible to say. 



6. A small and thin nematoid worm, from 1 to lA inches long, was found in con- 

 siderable numbers in the lower half of the smaller intestines; one specimen to, per- 

 haps, every 2 inches of intestine. They could not have caused any inconvenience 

 to the animal, and, in fact, there was not the slightest sign of irritation in the 

 mucous membrane. 



(Signed) A. Glntuer, M. D. 



British Museum, </«««(/?•(/ ;?(?, 1893. 



11. — Questions in regard to Sheep in the Breeding Season, kindly answered by Sir Samuel 



TVilson, M. P. 



1. Is it common and easy to make ewes suckle other ewes' lambs? — Yes. It can 

 be ert'ected by putting the skin of the ewe's dead lamb on the lamb she is desired to 

 adopt, or by holding her and getting the lamb to suck her for a few days, when she 

 will take to it as if her own progeny. 



2. Is it absolutely certain that lambs always know their own mothers, and nevei 

 get milk from any other mother unless forced to do so by man? — Ewes always know 



