REPORT OF AMERICAN COMMISSIONERS. 341 



oroiinfl on the supposition that the seals ' rove ' Decrease shown 



by rookeriea. 



more or less, occu})ying this field at one time 

 and that at another, no one who studies the 

 islands as they now are can fail to see that the 

 space now covered by seals is only a fringe 

 compared with the areas that were once alive 

 with them. 



Having- answered the first of the two queries , Decrease is in 



^ ^ female portion of 



relating to conditions of seal life at the present ^^®^'*^- 

 time, the second becomes important. It is, 

 Has the decrease in numbers been confined to 

 any particular class of seals, or is it most notable 

 in any class or classes ? In answer to this it is 

 our opinion that . the diminution in numbers 

 began and continues to be most notable in 

 female seals. 



It is quite likely, in fact almost certain, that Pifficnit to no- 



■ 11 -, ^ . 1 n . T -I ti'"'^ decrease ni 



tiie decrease would not be nrst discovered or females, 

 remarked in this class. 



The Government officers and Company's 

 agents on the islands are principally concerned 

 with the 'holluschickie,' in which class the kill- 

 able seals are found, and the first signs of deca- 

 dence would probably appear in the fact that 

 more seals had to be driven in order to obtain a 

 given number of merchantable skins. 



