43 



withdrawn iuto the body cavity when be is in motion, thus being entirely protected 

 from injury. Furthermore, for the first tliree years, or during the period when the 

 baclielors are most liable to driving, the testes are retained in the abdomen, and only 

 come down into the scrotum in the fourth year. 



XOT WISE TO PROHIBIT CULLING OF DRIVES. 



It would therefoi'e not be necessary or wise to require the lessees to kill everj' fur 

 seal they drive up. The skins of the " wigged" seals or half bulls are almost worth- 

 less as iur. To kill yearlings and short 2-year-olds would be extremely wasteful, as 

 the value of the skiji the following year would be much greater. II', however, the 

 males were killed as closely as tliej^ should be, it would not be necessary to drive 

 and redrive the half bulls and bulls as they have been driven this summer. The 

 breeding grounds are now overstocked with bulls. AVheu the need of a new supply 

 of nuile life for the breeding grounds is felt, there should be reserved each year of 

 the killable males a sufficient number to rei)lenish the stock, all others being killed. 

 The quota should not be a fixed one, but should represent all killable seals obtain- 

 able after the proper reserve for breeding pui'poses has been made. 



HERDING OF CULLED BACHELORS. 



It would be possible to herd the culled nuile seals in the Salt Lagoon aiul other 

 bodies of water, if deemed advisable, to prevent redriving. These ponds could be 

 fenced, arttl in them, as we have shown bj' experiment, large bodies of seals could 

 be retained for two or three weeks or during the killing period. This would have, as 

 matters now arc, the more im])()rtant advantage of saving them Irom the pelagic 

 sealer. The females could not be thus herded without great danger to their pups, as 

 without food the milk glands would become dry. If the driving were closed (m July 

 20, much of the present culling would be avoided, as the great body of the yearlings 

 arrive after that date. 



INJURED BULLS. 



There are to be found in the sunmier a certain small number of bulls, mostly young 

 ones, which are away from the herd and which are apparently snlfering. These have 

 been described as "impotent bulls," "outcasts from the rookeries," "broken and 

 spiritless victims of the drives," etc. Dissection of these shows that in all cases 

 they have been injured in tights with other bulls or by pelagic sealing. A number 

 of them have been shot for museum purposes. Among those examinetl, broken ribs, 

 injured pelvis, hernia, broken dippers, dislocated shoulders, and gunshot wounds 

 have been found to be the cause of their withdrawal from activity. Some of these 

 were ambitious young bulls which ventured beyond their class. Most of them ulti- 

 mately recover and return to their fellows. 



CASTRATION. 



There is only one record of an adult bull which was actually impotent. This one 

 had been castrated by some accident. He had no " wig," but retained the full, soft 

 fur of the 3 year-old. Judging from its effect on this animal, it was thought that 

 castration might be y)racticed'to a limited extent, at least, thus securing a larger 

 and heavier grade of skin by allowing the animal to live until 4 or 5 years of age. 

 Exi)eriment, however, showed the matter to be difficult, and on a large scale perhaps 

 im)»racticable. A pup taken from Lukauin rookery was castrated, the operation 

 being performed by Dr. Otto Voss, the resident physician of the North American 

 Commercial Company. It was skillfully ami successfully done, and the pup, branded 

 across the head to mark him, was returned in good condition to the rookery. Sub- 

 sequent searrli failed to find him, dead or alive. It will be interesting to know 

 whether he ever ap]»ears on the killing grounds. 



The ijractical difficulty iu the way of castration lies in the fact that the testes are 

 under control of the animal and can be drawn up far into the inguinal canal. 

 Experiment on a dead pup showed the organs apparently in a convenient location, 

 but in the living pup it was necessary to cut very deeply and for each organ sej)a- 

 rately, thus making the operation long and tedious. An additional difficulty lies in 

 the fact that the incisions must be made iu an exposed place, where the wounds come 

 iu contact with the grouud when the animal moves about. But doubtless the cold- 

 ness of the atmosphere, the scarcity of microbes and tlies, and the frequent plunges 

 into salt water all favor the rapid healing of any wound on the fur seals. 



