SEALSKIN INDUSTRY IN GREAT BRITAIN. 569 



obtained from tlie Lobos Islands, Cape Horn, and Aus- 

 tralasia, but the skius got from last three m.entioued Honi'ami Austraia^sia 

 localities play au inconsiderable part in the business, ^''^'^s. 

 That the great majority of the skins coming into the market are known 

 as the Alaska, the Copper Island, and the Northwest skins. The skins 

 belonging- to these several catches are catalogued separately, sold sep- 

 arately, and are of different values and necessarily, therefore, bring dif- 

 ferent prices in the market. 



Sixth. That the differences between these several classes of skins 

 are so marked as to enable any person skilled in the 

 business to readily distinguish one from the other. An the Leverarcatehir" 

 essential point of difference between the skins of the 

 Northwest catch and the skins of the Alaska and Copper Island catches 

 consists in the fact that most of the Northwest skins ^.^ 



are the skius of the female seal, while the Copper and mostly \iiose of le- 

 Alaska skins are of the male seal. Det;oneut has nmde Jj;^^^**' ^''^ ^^ *° ^" p*^^ 

 no computation or examination which would enable him 

 to say specifically what proportion of the Northwest catch are the skius 

 of the female seal, but it is the fiict that the great majority, deponent 

 would say 75 to 80 per cent, of the skins of this catch are the skius of 

 the female animal. The skins of the male seal and of the female seal 

 may be as readily distinguished as the skius of the different sexes of 

 any other animal. The skins of the female seal, for ^^^ ^^^^.^^ ^^.^^ 

 instance, show the marks of the breast and the fur are distinguished. 

 upon the belly is thinner, and the whole of the fur is 

 also finer, lower in pile; that is, the fibers composing the fur are shorter 

 than in the case of the male seal. Another means of distinguishing the 

 female skins from the skins ot the male lies in the fact that the skins of 

 the female are narrower at the head and tail and are proportionately 

 wider in the belly than the skins of the male seal. 



Another means of distinguishing the seals of the Northwest catch 

 from the skins of the Copper Island and Alaska catches 

 consists in the fiict that nearly all the skins of this ti4ui.sm«J'''^'co"er 

 catch have holes in them, Avhich deponent understands island" and Alaska 

 is caused by the fact that the seals from which they are Nortiiwest' *''°'^ °^' 

 taken have been shot or speared in tlie open sea, and 

 not, as is the case with the seals from which the skins of Copper Island 

 and Alaska catches are taken and killed, with clubs upon land. The 

 (lifference between the Copper Island catch and the j,,^,,,,,, ,,,^^,,,, 

 Alaska catch are marked and enable any one experi- Copper island and 

 enced in handhng skins to distinguish the one li-om Alaska skiDs. 

 the other. The Copper Island skins show that the animal is narrower 

 in the neck and at the tail than the Alaska seal and the fur is shorter, 

 particularly under the flippers, and the hair has a yellower tinge than 

 have the hairs of the Alaska seals, so that before the skins are dressed 

 the two may be readily distinguished from each other, and while depo- 

 nent has made no such attempt he believes that it would be reasonable 

 to say that if 1,000 Copper Island skius were mingled among 99,000 

 Alaska skins it would be possible for any one skilled in the business to 

 extract 950 out of the 1,000 Copper Island skins and to separate them 

 from the 99,050 of the Alaska catch, and vice versa. Both the Copper 

 Island skins and the Alaska skius are the skins of male seals almost 

 exclusively, although occasionally i'emale skins are found among the 

 Copper Island catch and less often among the Alaska catch. 



