THE QUOTA OF KILLABLE SEALS, 103 



This decrease in the herd was first felt in a shifting of the hauling grounds and 

 afterwards in a growing scarcity ' of the killable seals frequenting them. From the 

 year 1871, a quota of 100,000 skins had been annually taken. After 1883, the 

 date at which this number could be obtained from the hauling grounds became 

 relatively later, requiring more frequent and later driving. Finally it was necessary 

 successively to lower the grade of killable seals, until in 1889 to get the quota of 

 100,000 nearly the entire bachelor herd, down to and including most of the yearlings, 

 was taken. In 1890 the collapse came, when only 21,000 skins could be secured. 



THE FAILURE OF THE QUOTA. 



The sudden drop from a quota of 100,000 in 1889 to 21,000 in 1890 of course does 

 not represent a correspondingly sudden drop in the breeding herd. In the latter 

 the decrease has been gradual but steady, the deficiency in breeding cows lessening the 

 birthrate of pups, which in turn diminished the annual increment of 3-year-old breeders. 

 It also indirectly affected the hauling grounds by diminishing the supply of bachelors, 

 and this was the effect which first made itself felt. As seals of the proper age 

 became scarce the quota was filled by lowering the age to 2 years and afterwards by 

 including the larger yearlings, thus anticipating the quota of succeeding years. Such 

 a course of action would not have been indulged in except for the fact that the lease 

 under which the islands were then held was approaching its expiration. 



THE BREEDING HERD. 



The fall in the bachelor herd served to call attention forcibly to the condition of 

 the breeding herd, a matter which up to that time had received no attention, interest 

 being centered solely in the quota of the bachelors. Since 1890 the breeding herd has 

 been more or less constantly under investigation, the results of which, however, owing 

 to misinterpretation of some of the important facts of rookery life and development, 

 leave us confused and uncertain as to the actual number of animals constituting the 

 breeding herd during these years, though they leave no doubt as to its continued 

 decline. 



THE QUOTA SINCE 1890. 



In the meantime events conspired to confuse the hitherto definite results obtained 

 from the history of the quota. During the years 1891-93 land killing was limited 

 under the modus vivendi to 7,500 annually. After this long rest, when it would have 

 been natural to expect an increased quota, only a limited one was taken, a fact which 

 seems to arise rather from restrictions in the methods of driving than from the lack 

 of seals. We find from the table of daily killing (Appendix I) that during 1894-95 

 only two drives each were made from the various hauling grounds in the killing 

 season. Middle Hill was not driven from at all in 1895, nor English Bay in 1894. 

 The quotas of 10,000 and 15,000, respectively, for these years do not therefore give any 

 definite information as to the normal condition of the bachelor herd. 



THE QUOTAS OF 1894-95. 



The probable failure to take the full quota in 1894-95, aided in 1896 to further 

 confuse matters when normal driving was resumed. In this latter year every im- 

 portant hauling ground was driven from at least three times and some of them four 



1 See table of drives and hauling grounds, p. 123. 



