460 THE FUE SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



ME. LUCAS'S NOTES. 



At sea on the Rush. We boarded the Zillah May. She reports 625 seals — 314 

 males, 311 females. Up to August 12 she had taken 352, as follows: 134 males, 218 

 females. This preponderance of males over females in the recent catch is what might 

 theoretically have been expected from the dearth of bachelors on the hauling grounds 

 of late. 



In afternoon we picked up Mr. Halkett, Canadian commissioner, and obtained 28 

 seals from the Dora Siewerd, 26 females, 2 males ; only 1 young one. After dinner 

 dissected 13 seals, 12 females and 1 male. With the exception of one specimen, which 

 had a single fish vertebra, all females contained food, mostly pollock, but some other 

 fishes were reiDresented, quite a difiterent state of affairs from what was found on last 

 trip, when seals had been sleeping rather than eating. 



Mr. Halkett has found living spermatozoa in a 3-year-old seal. Spermatozoa 

 from a 5-year-old ( !) were apparently dead, but this might have been due to length of 

 time between capture and examination or to the fact that the season's work was over. 

 The scars, recent, on some of the ovaries examined now show indubitably as scars of 

 impregnation, being much larger than those examined in August. There is a decided 

 difference in size between the ovary impregnated last year and the one recently 

 impregnated, the latter naturally being the larger. In some cases the impregnated 

 branch of the uterus has begun to swell, but a casual examination shows no trace of 

 an embryo. It is interesting to note that the Graafian follicles are highly developed 

 in the functional ovary and scarcely apparent in the nonfunctional. In some cases 

 there are several very large Graafian follicles present, indicating more than one 

 chance for impregnation. 



After impregnation the Graafian follicles undergo a process of degeneration, and 

 I believe that these degenerate follicles are what Dr. Slunin considered to be the 

 marks of past impregnations. With one exception it has so far been impossible to 

 find more than one scar on an ovary; the exceptions showed two scars. Practically, 

 then, in the case of the fur seal, ovulation may be considered as synonymous with 

 impregnation, since neither Mr, Townsend nor myself have found more than one 

 recent scar on an ovary. 



In the evening we returned to St. Paul. 



SEPTEMBER 4. 



The morning being favorable for driving seals it was decided to try the chute. 

 A drive of about 3,000 seals, chiefly from Middle Hill, English Bay, and Lukanin, were 

 brought in. 



Professor Thompson, Mr. Macoun, Judge Crowley, Colonel Murray, and Mr. 

 Eedpath were present. 



THE CHUTE. 



The chute was located at the head of the lagoon in a small valley opening into 

 the water. It consisted of a narrow passageway about 4 feet wide and 20 feet long, 

 sufficiently large for the passage of a good-sized bull seal, wings extending out 

 into the rear to gather in the seals. At the outlet were two gates hinged from above 

 and arranged with pulleys so that they could be readily lifted. These gates formed 



