50 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



right ovary contained a single small Graafian follicle, but tbere was no sign of impreg- 

 nation or of capacity for impregnation, neither ovary showing any traces of a scar or 

 of the presence of a corpus luteum. The results of this examination are recorded as 

 follows in the diary : 



Ou August 1 a barren cow was found in a pod of bachelors on the parade ground on Eeef rookery. 

 From an examination of the teeth and skull she was found to be an adult cow, probably about 5 years 

 of age. She was above medium length but slender, and of rather less than medium weight. The 

 throat was very dark brown in color, rusty below as well a8 above. She was killed for purposes of 

 study. On examination the mamniie were found to be fairly large and to have undergone pathological 

 fatty degeneration. The glandular structure was obliterated. The ovaries were found to be small, 

 about one-fourth the size of those of the virgin 2-year old cows recently examined. The fallopian 

 tubes and uterus were similarly atrophied. The right ovary contained a small Graafian follicle and 

 egg. The germinal spot was visible in the egg and not impregnated. There was evident no sign of 

 impregnation or of capacity for impregnation. No signs of corpus luteum or scars of previous impreg- 

 nations were visible. The opening of the bladder was so small as to require a probe to find it. There 

 was no trace of hypeneraia, the tissues being pale and bloodless. 



This is the sole recorded instance of a cow i)ositively known to be barren. That 

 female seals should occasionally be barren is not surprising, but that any number are 

 habitually so, either from lack of bulls or any other cause, is wholly unsupported by 

 any evidence and directly opposed to all known facts. That cows not in nulk may be 

 taken at sea or elsewhere is self-evident from the fact that 11,000 dead pups were 

 found before August 15, but that these cows or any i)art of them are barren or unim- 

 pregnated can only be determined by an examination of the ovaries, while, from the 

 number of recorded observations, the i>resumption is that although dry they are 

 pregnant. Therefore statements that have been made to the eft'ect that the females 

 taken at sea, wlien over 2 years of age, were largely barien cows or nonbrceding 

 females are either deliberate falselioixls or the result of crass ignorance of evident 

 facts. Not only are these statements wholly unsui)ported by facts, but a most aston- 

 ishing feature about them is that they have been made by men who were not only 

 incapable of telling from examination whether or not a female was barren, but who 

 actually never made a single examination to ascertain the truth of their assertions. 



When the power of procreation ceases is unknown, but there is every reason to 

 believe that ordinarily it lasts throughout life. No bulls were seen so old that they 

 did not possess or strive to possess harems, while the very oldest female obtained was 

 nursing and, but for a pelagic sealer, would have borne a pup in 1897. Here we have 

 only the unsatisfactory corroborative evidence to be derived from domesticated ani- 

 mals, but we know that many of these breed throughout life, in spite of the fact that 

 as they live under artificial conditions they attain a much greater age than tliey would 

 in a state of nature, where the old and feeble are soon eliminated. So if an animal 

 breeds during its entire lifetime in a state of domestication, it is pretty safe to aflirm 

 that it would do so in a state of nature, while from the rarity of unpaired males or 

 females among wild animals during the breeding season it is a pretty safe inference 

 that they breed throughout life. Many horses breed as long as they live, and while 

 mares often cease to bear at the age of 22, the celebrated mare Primrose bore her 

 twentieth foal at the age of 28. The supposition that the female fur seal bears 

 throughout life receives strong support from the examination of a. female sea lion 

 {Eumetopias) killed for the i)urpose of obtaining, if possible, related evidence on this 

 l^oint. The animal, as shown by the coiulition of the skull and the skeleton generally, 

 was extremely old, and yet, like the fur seal previously mentioned, had borne a pup 



