10 



broad, shallow, muddy lagoon. In stormy weather the waves break right across the spit 

 on which the seals lie. l$o seals are driven from this small rookery. 



On this rookery Messrs. True and Townsend made a careful census on the 10th July, 

 1895, " passing in front of the rookery in a boat, using a low-power field-glass. The 

 harems were separated here by considerable intervals, and as the whole rookery was in 

 plain view, there was no obstacle to counting." The numbers thus obtained were 

 82 harems and 1,264 cows. Colonel Murray's figures are in this instance discrepant, as 

 he states the number at only 50 harems, with no idle bulls. 



I fancy that in this particular case Messrs. True and Townsend's census was the 

 more accurate of the two, and that Colonel Murray's was probably based on a more 

 distant view. 



In 1896 Dr. Jordan, accompanied by Mr. Clark and Mr. Macoun, walked over the 

 rookery, making a close count of bulls, cows, and pups. They found 1*20 harems, 

 1,474 cows, and 2,484 pups. These figures give the low average of }'2'3 cows visible in a 

 harem, and of 20'7 (an increase of G9'3 per cent.) as the actual size of the average harem 

 estimated by pups. Mr. Murray's estimate of the n.;mber of harems in 1896 is very 

 similar to Dr. Jordan's, viz., llo, with 40 idle bulls. The general results therefore are 

 an increase of cows in sight over those witnessed by Messrs. True and Townsend in the 

 previous year, and a confirmation by the count of pups of the inadequacy of any single 

 inspection of the cows to givs a full account of the number appertaining to the rookery. 

 The less percentage of pups to cows in sight than in the count made on Ketavie is a 

 justification for abating (to 7.5 per cent.) the addition (9i per cent, on Ketavie) requiring 

 to be made to the average counts of cows. 



Tolstoi. 



This rookery occupies the rocky portion to the east and south of a great bay (English 

 Bay) in the middle of the southern coast of the island. The bay is for the most part sandy, 

 and where its shore becomes rocky again to the westward we have the rookeries of Greater 

 and Lesser Zapadnie. 



At Tolstoi, to the southern end of the rookery, the seals occupy a rocky beach under 

 high cliffs or steep slopes (photograph 75), difficult of inspection until as the season 

 advances it becomes possible to penetrate into it. At the other end of the rookery, 

 towards the sands of English Bay, the rocks lie further back from the shore (photograph 

 Nos. 40, 74, &c.), and the seals are freely visible from the sands to the westward and from 

 various stations on the hill above. Between the rocks and the sea are sandy stretches, to 

 be afterwards referred to in my account of the dead pups. The chief hauling-ground is 

 above this latter portion of the rookery and on the more or less stony slope above the 

 adjacent portion of English Bay. Other tracts (photograph No. 39) in the middle of the 

 bay (Middle Hill) serve as hauling-grounds for this rookery and Zapadnie. 



My first photograph of Tolstoi was taken on the. 25th July. 



While in the more rocky parts of the rookery to the southward the seals lie scattered 

 in a manner similar to those on the other rookeries already described, at the other 

 extremity they lie in a dense mass (photograph No. 40), extending for some distance up 

 the hill at the extreme end of the rookery, but leaving almost vacant the smooth, sandy 

 interspace already alluded to. This rookery showed very markedly the change in outline 

 and in extent of ground covered by the seals at a later period in the season. By the time 

 our second series of views were taken (7th August, photograph No. 109), the sandy 

 interspace was largely occupied by seals, and harems were dotted among the stones 

 almost to the very top of the hill ; still later they reached the rock at the very top. 



Mr. Townsend's views of this rockery are particularly fine and on a larger scale than 

 ours. His photograph No. 25 (24th July, 1895) would appear at first sight to show a 

 much larger number of seals than ours ; but it is taken at short, range and from a very 

 advantageous locality. When we take it in connection with its companion picture No. 26 

 and then compare the result with that of this year, the apparent difference tends in great 

 part to disappear. 



Messrs. True and Townsend give us no complete and specific estimate of the number 

 of seals in this rookery for 1895; but Colonel Murray places the number of harems in 

 that year at 400, and of idle bulls at 250. In 1896 (16lh July) he estimated the harems 

 at 3'>5, and the idle bulls at 220; but Dr. Jordan and his party found somewhat later 

 389 harems on the main or northern part of the rookery and 168 more under the cliffs. 

 On the latter portion of the rookery the cows were counted and found to number 1,498, an 

 average of 13-87 to a harem ; and the live pups were afterwards counted to the number 



