154 APPENDIX. 



was the larger seal, and was captured in a very un- 

 usual way, having become entangled in the net, in 

 forcing his Avay through the small door, or entrance 

 of the chamber ; and had he not been captured just 

 at the time he became so entangled, he would, I 

 have little doubt, have escaped by forcing his pas- 

 sage through, as it is a very common occurrence to 

 find a fixed net much torn and damaged, without be- 

 ing able satisfactorily to assign the cause. For va- 

 rious reasons it is very difficult to capture these 

 animals ; but the depredations they commit upon 

 the salmon, when enclosed in the fixed net, are truly 

 distressing, in an economic point of view : distinct 

 statistics on this head can never be supplied; but it 

 has been calculated, that seals and porpoises devour 

 more than ten times the number captured by nets. 

 It has always been my opinion that the smaller seal 

 (the Phoca vituhna) is by far, of the seal tribe, the 

 most destructive of the salmon. This seal is not 

 larger than a spaniel. The door of the bag net is 

 eight inches wide, but about seven feet in height, 

 and with but very shght effort, this seal can go in at the 

 door, and come out with a salmon in his paws ; nor 

 can it be doubted that this animal resorts regularly 

 to the fixed net for his supply of food. That he is 

 not frequently captured is no more remarkable than 

 that a rat should not be caught in a trap, if the door 

 remained open ; but I have seen on numerous occa- 

 sions, too many salmon in the chamber of the net, 

 having fresh wounds upon them, to leave any doubt 



