416 



THE FTR SKALS OF THE I'RIBTLOF ISLANDS. 



Gulls pick out the eyes of imps, or at least of many pups, soon after they die, but 

 I am ill doubt as to whether they pick out the eyes of living pups, much less kill them. 

 In the case of very young pups this might be possible were it not for the fact that 

 when the pups are young the harems are lull and the mothers of the pups near them. 

 The mere presence of the mother is a source of protection, though as a rule the female 

 seems very indifferent to its offspring. 



COLONEL MURRAY'S COUNT. 



Colonel Murray rei)orts the following completed count of harem and idle bulls 

 for the rookeries of the two islands: 



July 29J 

 30 

 30 



Aug. 1 



liookery. 



Northeast Point . 

 Halfway Point'.. 



Liikanin 



Kit^ivi 



Hfef 



Lagoon 



Tolstoi 



EuKlisli Bay' 



Zapa<iDi....' 



Total 



ST. GEORGE. 



East 



Staraya Artel. 



North 



Zapadni 



Total, St. George . 

 Total, St. Paul . . . 



ftraud total, 1896 . 

 Graud total, 1895 . 



Decrease - 

 Increase . 



Idle 

 bulla. 



1,595 

 285 

 205 

 190 

 SIOO 

 115 

 325 

 100 

 477 



4,192 



179 



75 



225 



182 



661 

 4.192 



4, 853 

 5,000 



1, 095 

 254 

 125 

 100 

 411 

 40 

 220 

 111 

 310 



2,666 



55 

 75 

 110 

 100 



330 

 2,066 



2,800 



196 



' Polovina and Little Polo\ina. 



» This includes Gorbatcli and Reef rookeries. , , ,, , . 



» The breeding ground we have designated Zapadni Keef. The discrepancy here between Colonel Murray 8 count 

 and that uf Dr. Jordan (176), is so great as to suggest that the former count, made from the shore m the rear, is not so 

 accurate as the latter, made from a boat in front. , ,-. ., 



'From the results of the investigations of 1897 we are led to doubl the value of counts ot harems made after tue 

 25th of July. 



AUGUST 15. 



COUNT OF LIVE PUPS. 



T)r. Jordan and Mr. Clark made a count of the live pu]is on Kitovi rookery. The 

 method employed was to cut off a pod of about 100 pups or less and run them off 

 from the main body until they were strung out in a narrow line that could be counted. 

 As soon as one pod was counted a second was run off, and this process repeated until 

 the whole rookery was covered. The pups would ordinarily have taken to the water, 

 but a tremendous surf was running directly against the rookery front, preventing 

 their doing so. The result of the count can not be more than a hundred out of the 

 way, and is, if anything, an underestimate. 



Beginning at the south end of the rookery to Kitovi Point there were 640 pups. 

 To the grassy wall of clift's at the middle of Kitovi there were 2,244. To the great 

 green cliff, 922. To the beginning of tlie great ain|)hitheater, l,04!t. To the end of 



