64 mii-rj<',TiN ok TirK linitkd states kish roMMiasioN. 



tlu^ holiof Mi;M-, itn the irholc, a hull is able to talcfi cnvo of as many lomales as he can 

 lifC]) arouiKl liirii. 'IMkm'c, is midonhtcdly fjreat individual dillcii'iiccs in this respect, 

 t^oiiic hulls Ihmuj;' strcnif^er llian others, hut I think it can he safely asserted, as it rale, 

 that the proci'eative )(o\ver uf the l)iill is in direct |)ro])ortion to his seneral i)hysical 

 8ti('nf>tli. 1 think it also sound to assume that, oh a rule, a hull i)liysically strong 

 eiKuigli to live through the winter gales and the vi(!issitudes of liis winter wanderings 

 and to return to his phice on the I'ookery is also strong enough to fulfill his duty there. 

 I have j)ur|)os(\ly eni|ili:isi/.(Hl "on the whole" and "as a rule," hecause I can easily 

 imagine individual cases of, for iustiin(H% accidentally castrated hulls, oi' old feeble ones 

 who might hav«i the good fortune to meet with unusually faxoi'ahle eoiulitions during 

 (heir winter ndgrat ions, etc., and because I am (luite willing to admit that a number of 

 •■^uch hulls may b(^ foiiiul (Ui each rookery. Tlu^se ex(^ei)tions, however, do not niatcMially 

 alter the ahc>\'e propositions as relating to the whole po]uilation of the rookery. 



The (rain of reasoning wliicdi led nu> to the above eiuurlusions is as follows: Some 

 of the most noteworthy of my observations this sumnu^r on the ('omniander Islands 

 establish tlui factts (I) that the decrease in the killable seals was most maiked on ('op- 

 per Island; (2) that there was a full <^()mi)lement of pups as compared with breeding 

 females on both islamls; {',i) that there was an anii>le siipjily of bulls, old and young, on 

 (lo]tlier Island, whih^ on Meriug Island they were much less numerous as compared with 

 the number <d" femahis. I was intbrm«Hl that the latter condition was not peculiar to 

 th^^ jiresent .\tiar (lS!l."i) a.l(Mu\ and it is also jtarticularly mentioned in Mr. (^rebnitski's 

 report foi' ISiKl. It would tliert^fore seem as if the different proportions between the 

 sexes on the two islands have had no visible iullueuce upon the nnnd)er of pnps born- 



The soundness of the above deductions amy receive corroboration, or the reverse, 

 by obstn'vations ou the South Ifookery on lleriug Island in lS!)t». On that rookery 

 the dispro|>ortion between the two sexes was excessive in ISita. According to reliable 

 information, thi< number of hulls ou the whole rookery ditl not exceed five.' Judging 

 fnuu what 1 saw of this rookery during two visits, 1 should place the nnmber of 

 bri^ediug tenuiles at abmit (iOO, ])ossibly only 50(1. It won hi be a comparatively easy 

 matter toobs(>rve this year whether the number of pups born he very markedly small 

 in i)roportion to the number of females hauling out. 



On the large rookeries it is diflicult, if not impossible, for various reasons, to 

 (lorrectly t<stimate the average proiwrtitui between the bulls and the females, and par- 

 ticularly so on liering Island, because the bachehus to so great an extent haul up 

 between the breeding females. Mixed in among the latter in this way. it is next to 

 iu»pt>ssibh* at long range to say. with any approach to accuracy, what the proportion 

 between tlu^se two classes is.- In general, the diflicailty lies in the fact that the 

 individual harems differ so greatly in size. Thus, during the visit to Kishotchnaya 

 Rookery, l>eriug Island, on .Inly (». Mr. Grebuitski counted several harems which 

 contained all the way from 1^* to !>o females, or more. But there is still another 

 serious difliculty, which is due to the constant going and coming of the females, so that 



' Wlven 1 visitotl tlio roo(vevy on August 17 the luiKs hiul already left. It was romoreil in the 

 village that theiv liad only been one hull, but N'ikanor (.irigorieC, the native in charge of the killing 

 there, iuformetl me that the actual number was tive. 



- It is lieKl bv souie tliat the luttives have such a marvelonsly keen eye and discriminating power 

 aa to enable them, at least, to make such an estimate. At one time 1 accepted this as a matter of faith, 

 but my experience last summer— to be detailed further on— has convinced me that the uatives are not 

 pavtieulavly sjifted in that respect. As a matter of fact, their estimates aiv about .as much guesswork 

 aa that of the white people, only that from their greater faiuiliurity with the ground aud the seals, 

 they iifi apt to gios^ in..re tlosely. 



