Hair Seal Fisheries. 



219 



plank by means of which the Seal as it attempts to land 

 is hurled headlong into a deep pit. 



Where nets are used, in Newfoundland or Labrador, 

 two are usually set together in the neighborhood of rocks 

 to which the Seals resort, and they are always placed to 

 the leew'ard of the mainland or some headland. When 

 nets are used in the Caspian Sea they are hung from 

 boats at some distance from the land ; and on Lake 

 Baikal, they are let down through the breathing holes of 

 the Seals in the iee. When they strike the nets the Seals 

 thrust their heads through some of the meshes, and in 

 their efforts to extricate themselves become completely 

 involved. 



Gri^enland Seal, 



Besides the skins, a valuable product of the hair seal 

 industry is the oil extracted from the blubber of the 

 young animals and used for lighting and lubricating 

 purposes. The natives of the far north look to the seals, 

 not only for lamp oil, and the greater part of their food, 

 but for materia] from which to make their boats, sledges, 

 clothing and hunting implements. 



