THE RUSSIAN AMERICAN COMPANY. 85 



oiis districts, i. e., in bundles of several tens of skins, bound by leather 

 straps. 



According- to information received by me from Messrs. Lobecli and 

 Slieppler, the people at New York were greatly pleased with the way 

 in Avhich our skins were forwarded and packed, the same having been 

 received in good order, audit is ])robable that it would be better to con- 

 tinue packing in the same way, and, by way of experiment, to send two 

 or three packages in the condition in which they are received from the 

 colonial districts. 



Messrs. Lobech and Sheppler advised that in packing the skins should 

 not be folded on account of their liability to break at the folds; this 

 advice will be followed in future in shipping of skins around the world. 



The salting of fur-seals, wiiich had been stopped by order of the 

 board, will be renewed next year; but inasnuich as the orders to that 

 effect will reach the islands of St. Paul and St. George not earlier than 

 in the suuimer of that year, the receipt of a suflicient number of salted 

 skins from tho.se islands in the same year can not be guaranteed. 



The experiment of salting fur-seal skins in New Archangel will also 

 be made. 



In regard to gray seals, I have the honor to express the opinion that 

 the nmuber of such seals taken should be increased. Until now, only 

 such number of these seals was taken as was necessary for obtaining 

 blubber to supply the wants ol the Aleuts on the i.slauds and to send 

 to St. Michael's redoubt in exchange for skins furnished by the iude- 

 ]»('n(lent natives, but of late tlu' demand for blubber in New Archangel 

 itself lias been on the increase by reason of the increase in the number 

 of steamers and engines. 



The blubber to be found in this market comes very high, and iu order 

 to reduce the expense 1 sent orders to the islands of St. Paul and 

 St, (4eorge for supplies of fur-seal blubber, and have now received 

 about a thousand gallons of seal oil, the cost of which at San Francisco 

 would be about 8,000 paper rubles. In view of the above stated consid- 

 erations, while issuiug orders for the suppression, as far as practicable, 

 of the killing of small gray seals, fit only for oil and meat, as winter 

 supplies, I tind it necessary to request definite instructions from the 

 board of administration as to the absolute suspension of such killing. 

 Should, however, the board, in view of the above-stated circumstances, 

 authorize the killing of gray seals in such quantities as may be neces- 

 sary for the supplies of blubber and meat required by the natives and 

 residents on the islaiuls of St. Paul and St. George, in such case the 

 (jucstion will arise as to the disposition of the skin. 



At the present time, there are about 5,0U0 such skins in the ware- 

 house, and if about 3,000 skins a year be taken, then in a few years a 

 quantity will be accumulated which will require a corresiDondingly 

 large place of storage. I am inclined to the opinion that iu case the 

 sending of such skins to Russia and foreign markets should prove un- 

 profitable, an attempt might be made to dispose of them in the colonies 

 for making garments and coats, which, if the tanning is good, may be 

 substituted for sheep-skin coats. 



As an experiment a few garments might be made from the skins now 

 lying unused in warehouses. 



In conclusion, I have the honor to report to the board of adminis- 

 tration that according to information now received, the fur-seal rook- 

 eries in all places, but particularly on the island of St. Paul, are so 

 crowded that all available points for breeding are filled and they ap- 

 pear to be adequate so that an extension of the catch is deemed indis- 

 pensable ; and this will be carried into effect next year. 



