FUR SEALS AND OTHER LIFE, PRIBILOF ISLANDS, I914. lOI 



Anniial sale of skins. — In section 11 of the law of 191 2 it is provided that "the 

 skins of all seals so used for food shall be preserved and annually sold by the Govern- 

 ment." A further provision of the same section relating to the disposition of skins 

 obtained from commercial killings and from the Governments of Great Britain and 

 Japan states that "all skins which are or shall become the property of the United States 

 from any source whatsoever shall be sold by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor 

 in such market, at such times, and in such manner as he may deem most advantageous." 

 Thus at least food skins taken during the five-year period of restricted killing are to 

 be sold annually, and by construing the first provision of the law as governing the 

 second, the same course will be necessary with all skins taken in the future. 



Obviously it would be to the interest of the government to be able to take advan- 

 tage of the best market conditions in all cases. A temporary depression, such as that 

 caused by the European war, would make it advisable to postpone the sale to a more 

 favorable date, but under the present laws this can not be done without special authority 

 from Congress." The sale has usually been conducted in December or January. The 

 time between the shipment of the skins and the sale may be so short that conditions 

 are likely to arise making it desirable to postpone the sale for several months. Even 

 slightly depressed market conditions during the restricted period allowed for the sale 

 might cause serious loss. 



Specimens for scientific purposes. — The laws make no provision for the preservation 

 of specimens of the fur seal for scientific investigation or for exhibition in public 

 museums. It is altogether probable that in the future management of the herd prac- 

 tical problems will arise which can not be settled except by research involving the 

 killing of certain seals, including some proportion of females and young. Such problems 

 may relate to breeding and reproduction, to ascertaining the cause of disease, or to 

 various other matters. Although of technical nature, they may be of great economic 

 importance, and failure to provide for them may result in large financial loss. During 

 the investigation of 1914, the legal prohibition against killing females proved embar- 

 rassing, and certain matters which otherv/ise might have received attention were there- 

 fore disregarded. The preservation of specimens of the fur seal in public museums is 

 surely worthy of consideration because of the educational service to the public. Many 

 of our museums have verj' few or no specimens of the fur seal, and even in the United 

 States National Museum, where such an important and interesting animal should be 

 well represented, the specimens are old and imperfect. Under the law, even the skins 

 of seals that have died from natural causes and which may have only trifling money 

 value, must be sold like any others. 



It is plain, therefore, that a provision which would place the killing of seals for 

 scientific or educational purposes within the discretion of a responsible official would 

 be very desirable. 



EFFECT OF RESTRICTED SEAUNG ON THE FOX HERD. 



The blue foxes of the Pribilof Islands constitute an important and valuable asset. 

 Undue restriction of sealing not only causes a reduced revenue from the seals but 



a This was found necessary in December, 1914, when a joint resolution to postpone the sale of food skins for that season was 

 introduced in Congress. Such action would have been unnecessary if the time of sale had been within the discretion of a respon- 

 sible official. 



