THE QUOTA OF KILLABLE SEALS. 103 
This decrease in the herd was first felt in a shifting of the hauling grounds and 
afterwards in a growing scarcity! of the killable seals frequenting them. From the 
year 1871, a quota of 100,000 skins. had been annually taken. After 1883, the 
date at which this number could be obtained from the hauling grounds became 
relatively later, requiring more frequent and later driving. Finally it was necessary 
successively to lower the grade of killable seals, until in 1889 to get the quota of 
100,000 nearly the entire bachelor herd, down to and including most of the yearlings, 
was taken. In 1890 the collapse came, when only 21,000 skins could be secured. 
THE FAILURE OF THE QUOTA. 
The sudden drop from a quota of 100,000 in 1889 to 21,000 in 1890 of course does 
not represent a correspondingly sudden drop in the breeding herd. In the latter 
the decrease has been gradual but steady, the.deficiency in breeding cows lessening the 
birthrate of pups, which in turn diminished the annual increment of 3-year-old breeders. 
It also indirectly affected the hauling grounds by diminishing the supply of bachelors, 
and this was the effect which first made itself felt. As seals of the proper age 
became scarce the quota was filled by lowering the age to 2 years and afterwards by 
including the larger yearlings, thus anticipating the quota of succeeding yéars. Such 
a course of action would not have been indulged in except for the fact that the lease 
under which the islands were then held was approaching its expiration. 
“THE BREEDING HERD. 
The fall in the bachelor herd served to call attention forcibly to the condition of 
the breeding herd, a matter which up to that time had received no attention, interest 
being centered solely in the quota of the bachelors. Since 1890 the breeding herd has 
been more or less constantly under investigation, the results of which, however, owing 
to misinterpretation of some of the important facts of rookery life and development, 
leave us confused and uncertain as to the actual number of animals constituting the 
breeding herd during these years, though they leave no doubt as to its continued 
decline. 
THE QUOTA SINCE 1890. 
In the meantime events conspired to confuse the hitherto definite results obtained 
from the history of the quota. During“the years 1891-93 land killing was limited 
under the modus vivendi to 7,500 annually. After this long rest, when it would have 
been natural to expect an increased quota, only a limited one was taken, a fact which 
seems to arise rather from restrictions in the methods of driving than from the lack 
of seals. We find from the table of daily killing (Appendix I) that during 1894-95 
only two drives each were made from the various hauling grounds in the killing 
season. Middle Hill was not driven from at all. in 1895, nor English Bay in 1894, 
The quotas of 16,000 aud 15,000, respectively, for these years do not therefore give any 
definite information as to the normal condition of the bachelor herd. 
THE QUOTAS OF 1894-95. 
The probable failure to take the full quota in 1894~95, aided in 1896 to further 
confuse matters when normal driving was resumed. In this latter year every im- 
portant hauling ground was driven from at least three times and some of them four 
-1 See. table of drives and hauling grounds, p. 123, 
