COUNTER-CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 219 



TV. n<:a>!. — Five years' oxporicnce as boat-sti'ovcv and one as linntcr. 

 Took, in ISyiJ, 168 seals, of which 25 or 30 were barren cows, ami says: 

 "The hunters I was with in former years got about that number of 

 harren cows. They generally travel with young bulls." 



Captain. U. B. Jones. — Five years' experience — three as master — 

 says: "This year I noticed a good many barren females. My hunters 

 often called my attention to this this year, and we would examine the 

 seal and lind that it was a cow, but that there was no young one in 

 her. I never noticed this liefore to such an extent as this year." 



Captain E. VantiUian. — Four years' experience. Has Ibund a good 

 many barren cows among the seals lie has taken. 



H. li. Smith, twelve years' experience in North Pacific, says that 

 early in the season about lialf the seals taken on the Vancouver coast 

 are females, and of these only about half are in pup. 



A. liiUavd says about one-half of coast catch are females and of 

 these about one-fourth are in pup. 



Captain A. li. Ilisseft states that of 568 seals taken on the coast in 

 1892 about half were females, but not more than 70 or 80 were in pup. 



W. de Witt. — About half the females taken are in pup. 



F. W. Strong thinks about half the females taken on the coast are 

 in pnp. 



N. Morrison took, in 1891, 119, of which about half were females; 

 not over 30 of these were in pup. In 1892, of 202 seals taken, about 

 (35 were females, about half in pup, and half barren and young 

 females. 



J. D. Warren says that about half the females taken on the coast 

 were young seals and barren cows. 

 254 C. O. Burns says there was a number of barren cows in the 



boat he was in in 1891, and that in 1892 a good many barren 

 cows were got. 



W. (). Hi((/lu'8 states that about half the females taken by him in 1891 

 and 1892 were in pup, and that but one-third of those taken by himin 

 Behring Sea in 1891 showed signs of milk. 



J. Brown, six years' experience, got barren cows on the coast every 

 year, but says that in Behring Sea he could not tell whether the cows 

 were barren or not; very few were got with milk in their breasts. 



J.Sitemau says that in 1890 most of the females taken by the vessel 

 he wasin were young females and barren cows; in 1891, about half the 

 females taken were barren cows or young females; in 1892, about 

 three-fifths of the catch were males; "nearly all of the rest were b.ar- 



ren cows. Only a few cows with pup were got The 



'Geneva' was four or five days about 80 miles otf shore from Mount 

 St. Elias in June. The hunters got about 200 seals there, and most of 

 theni were barren cows. This fact was particularly noticed when the 

 seals were brought on board and skinned. Neither myself nor any 

 person on the MJeneva' had ever seen so many barren cows before." 



W. Hermann states that he Irequently takes cows without pups or 

 milk. 



G. Scott each j^ear takes "quite a number of barren cows." 



G. Wester estimates the number of barren cows taken by him at from 

 20 to 25 per cent of the number of females. 



Captain C. Luijens says: "About one-fifth of the cows taken are 

 barren." 



C. Hartiwen says that he has killed " a great many large cows that 

 had no milk, and are not carrying pup." 



M. Scolt says: "On the coast this year [1892] we got very few cows 

 carrying pup. I know this, because we were trying to get a number 

 of unborn pups, and found it ditficult to get what we wanted. Of the 

 total take of cows along the coast — about 300 — not more than 100 were 

 pregnant, the others being too young to breed or barren cows." He 

 has also taken barren cows in Behring Sea. 



Captain J. S. Worth has "taken some barren cows that had neither 

 pnp nor milk." 



M. Keej'e states that his vessel took, in 1892, 180 seals on the coast, 

 of whirh very few were cows, and none in im]). This was remarked 

 at the time by the hunters and crew as something unusual. His expe- 

 rience has been that not more than 20 females in 100 taken are in pup, 



J. Cobitrn says that none of the fenuiles he got on the coast in 1892 

 were females in pnp; "they were either young cows or barren cows." 

 In previous years about one-half were young and barren cows. 



