COUNTER-CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN 105 



Naturalists difler in opinion AAiietlier the fur-seals of the ^^ s|^r^^ ^En^'- 

 North Pacific shouUl, or should not, be classed as gener- ciopsedia Britau- 

 ically difierent from those of the Southern Oceans, and in "a'g^'Brlfeifc;,^: 

 consequence of this difference of opinion, the names Otaria missioneTs' Ke- 

 ursina and Callorhium ursinus have been employed to p°ig6.^''^*^° '^' 

 denote the North Pacific Fur-seals collectively. By natur- ^j^^^^TJ/^nt' 

 alists generally, moreover, the animal in question is referred graph of no°ui 

 to as the "Northern fur-seal," or "fur-seal of the North ^^^eri«an^Pin.u. 

 Pacific" (see Flower and Allen, as cited in the margin), united states 

 and not as the "Alaskan" fur-seal. The United States ^^^^^^PPf*^^^- 



Commissioners, in their lieport, have, however, in- united states 

 121 vented still another name, viz., "Bering Sea fur- ^''^'P" " 



seal." 

 The attempt, therefore, in the course of the arguments 

 now produced, to evolve a new and special name lor ai)pli- 

 cation to those fur-seals found in the eastern part of the 

 North Pacific, and to denote them as a " herd," must be 

 considered as singularly unfortunate. 



UNITED STATES COMMISSIONERS AND PROFESSOR ALLEN 

 ADMIT SPECIFIC IDENTITY. 



The United States Behring Sea Commissioners state 

 that the fur-seal of the North Pacific constitutes but a 

 single species, writing: 



The Nortliorn i'nr-seal {CallorhUins nrsinns) is an inhabitant of Be- Ibid., p. 322. 

 riiio- Sea and the 8ea of Okhotsk, where it breeds on rocky islands. 

 Only fonr lireediuij colonies are known, namely, (1) on the Pribilof 

 Islands, lielougiuuto tlie I'uitcd States ; (2) on the Commander Islands, 

 helonjiing to Russia; (o) on Robben Reef, belonging to Russia, ami 

 (4) on the Kurile Islands, belonging to Japan. 



Professor J. A. Allen similarly characterizes the "North- 

 ern fur-seal" as a whole, as constituting a single species; 

 and omitting all leference to theexistemte of the breeding- 

 places on Robben Keef and the Kurile Islands, defines its 

 habitat as — 



the islands in Bering Sea; at present chiefly the Pribilof and Com- ,.^^'!^y ■'^'^f-^^' 

 mander Islands, migrating southward in winter along tlie American i'^- ^'^^ • *' P- 

 coast to California, and along the Asiatic coast to the Kurile Islands. 



THE FUR-DEALER IS DEPENDED ON AS PROVINO DISTINC- 

 TION DRAWN IN UNITED STATES CASE. 



In order, however, to establish the constant difference 

 which it is considered necessary to prove as between the 

 seals found on the two sides of this ocean, not the skilled 

 naturalist, but the fur-dealer and furrier, are chiefly ap- 

 j)ealed to in the United States Case. It will, therefore, be 

 appropriate in the first i>lace to examine the nature of the 

 evidence obtained from such sources. 



BUT SKINS OF SAME ANIMALS TAKEN IN DIFFERENT SUR- 

 ROUNDINGS FREQUENTLY POSSESS DIFFERENT COM- 

 MERCIAL VALUES. 



It is a fact very well known and widely recognized, that 

 skins even of the same animals taken in difierent locali- 

 ties under different conditions of climate, and differently 



