no BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



their own kind. It seems scarcely credible that lemmings should never be eaten, 

 but it is plain that they can not form an important element in the food supply. 



Needs of foxes according to season. — It is evident from the above discussion of 

 the principal sources of food available even at the present time, when comparatively 

 few seals are being killed, that the relatively small number of foxes now living on the 

 islands do not suffer much from hunger during the summer months. During the early 

 autumn also there is apparently a sufficiency of food, but the young foxes, after being 

 abandoned by their parents in early September and while yet inexperienced in seeking 

 food, undoubtedly have a hard struggle for existence. But the fact that the foxes 

 taken in late November are almost invariably fat shows that they have fared well 

 during the autumn. Conditions during midwinter and early spring, however, are 

 necessarily more severe. Regarding the natural food at this season, the most complete 

 observations seem to be those of Dr. W. L. Hahn. On January i8, 191 1, he found 

 indications sho^ving that tunicates formed an important source of food supply. In 

 late January he noted that the common stalked ascidian, together with a colonial 

 form, and a large sessile, potato-like form, constituted a very large part of the food 

 of the foxes. Later he found that a few sea urchins were eaten. About the middle 

 of April ascidians and other invertebrates were being eaten. During the winter, how- 

 ever, he noted that the shore ice prevented the foxes from securing a great deal of food 

 which otherwise would have been available. 



As regards food obtained from the sea, St. Paul Island on account of its more 

 extensive beaches offers better resources than St. George, where steep cliffs form a 

 large part of the shore line. 



Thus waging a constant struggle against starvation and the rigor of the elements 

 the foxes pass the long winter until the arrival of the hordes of birds marks the beginning 

 of a period of abundance. 



History of special feeding. — During the winter of 1894-95 when it began to be evi- 

 dent that the growing scarcity of foxes on St. George was due to lack of food, an effort 

 was made to feed such as came about the village, and many were saved from starvation. 

 In the summer of 1896, James Judge inaugurated the present system of feeding on St. 

 George by salting a large quantity of seal carcasses. During the following winter these 

 bodies which had been more or less perfectly preserved were freshened a few at a time 

 and put out for the foxes. The readiness with which they responded and the preference 

 for this food which they exhibited favored the continuance of the practice, and with 

 various modifications this plan has been followed ever since. The lack of a sufficient 

 supply of seal meat above the actual food requirements of the population, however, has 

 made it necessary to resort to other food. Salted or dried salmon and whale blubber 

 have been fed in large quantities and with greater or less success. The difficulty of prop- 

 erly freshening the salted food, however, is always very great. Sea water does not 

 effectively remove the salt and the supply of fresh water being limited to a few places 

 and usually being not ample nor easily available for this purpose, is further reduced in 

 quantity and availability by freezing at the very time it is most needed. The inevitable 

 result has been that much imperfectly freshened food has been given to the animals, 

 sometimes with disastrous results. The difficulties in the way of properly removing the 

 salt from foods preserved in this way seem to be insurmountable, taking into considera- 

 tion the necessity for supplying the food at a number of widely separated locations. 



