SEALSKIN INDUSTRY IN GREAT BRITAIN. 573 



through deponent's hands for some years last past, and last year he 

 handled nearly the whole of the Nortliwest catch. 



Besides those three last-nientioued classes, the Alaska, Copper, and 

 Northwest, a certain number of sealskins also come to southern skins 

 the London market from southern waters, notably "" '''™* '°^' 

 Lobos Island and (Jape Horn, but the skins from these localities are 

 lelatively much less important than the skins of the Northern Pacific 

 regions. 



That the difiterence between the several classes of skins are very 

 marked, and enable anybody who is skilled in the 

 business or accustomed to handling of fur sealskins to ^^ciasses distinguisii- 

 distiuguish the skins of one class from the skins which 

 belong to either of tlie other two classes and these differences are evi- 

 denced by tlie fact that the skins obtain different prices in the market. 



That the difterences between the skins of the adult male seals and the 

 adult female seals are as marked as the differences 

 between the skins of the two sexes of other animals, females."'"^* catch. 

 and that in the Northwest catch from 85 to 90 per cent 

 of the skins are of the female animal. 



Deponent does not mean to state that these figures are mathemat- 

 ically accurate, but they are, in his judgment, ap])roximately exact. 



The difference between the Copper Island catch and the Northwest 

 and Alaska catches, which two last-mentioned classes of skins of the 

 fur-seal apparently belong to the same family, are such as to enable 

 any person skilled in the business to distinguish the Coppers from the 

 Northwest and Alaska skins, or what I may call the Bering Sea seal- 

 skins, but the manner in which the skins are distinguished is difficult 

 to describe to any person not accustomed to handling skins. The 

 difterence again between the Alaska and Northwest catches, although 

 as deponent has said they are of the same general family, are yet very 

 marked by reason of the difference of the color of the hair, the length 

 of the wool, which is, of course, perceptible nminly upon examination 

 of the pelts and of the fact that the female skins show the marks of the 

 breast. 



The differences between the three classes of skins above mentioned 

 are so marked that the skins belonging to the three catches have 

 always, since deponent had any knowledge of the business, com- 

 manded, and do now command, different prices in the markets, for 

 instance, the Alaska skins of the last year's catch ^ .^ 

 fetched about 12os. per skin; the Copper -skins of the 

 last year's catch fetched GSs. (}d. per skin, and the Northwest skins of 

 the last year's catch fetched about 556-. per skin. 



Among the skins classed as the Northwest catch there have for the 

 last few years been included a considerable number of skins which de- 

 ponent says he thinks were formerly called Japanese 

 skins, which are distinguished from the remaining ^v^^^a^^ ina. 

 Northwest and Alaska skins by reason of the dift'erent color of the 

 skins in the raw state. This difference in color is so distinct as to be 

 practically unmistakable. 



That the business of handling and dealing in fur-seal skins has be- 

 come, in the city of London, an established and im 

 portant industry. That deponent himself, lor instance, ,|J;°;?^'.°° sealskin in- 

 emijloys at the present time Ifom 400 to 500 laborers, 

 who are mostly engaged in one way or another upon fur-seal skins, 

 many of whom are skilled workmen receiving good 

 wages, and many of them having families dependent a^or empioyet . 

 ujoon them for their supx^ort. Deponent estimates the total number of 



