POOD OF THE SEALS. 95 



rookery, Bering Island, which was witnessed by the ofQcers, including the surgeon, 

 Dr. Lloyd Thomas, of Her British Majesty's ship Porpoise. It reads as follows: 



There was another matter to which I called the special attention of the English gentlemen while 

 we were on the rookery, viz, the presence — and very offensively smelling presence — of semifluid excre- 

 ments on the rocks, partionlarly mentioning the opposite ohservation of the British commissioners. 

 In fact, the fecal matter was making it very slippery in places. 



The argument derived from the alleged absence of excrementitions matter on the 

 rookeries is consequently disposed of. It may be well to add the remark that it. is 

 more than probable that most of the feces are voided at sea before hauling up, and 

 that, in conjunction with their fluid nature, this explanation accounts satisfactorily 

 for the fact that its presence ou the rookeries is not more obvious. 



As already remarked above, observations on the rookeries are not apt to furnish 

 positive data as to the nature of the bulk of the food of the Commander Islands fur 

 seals. That they eat cephalopods is proven by the occasional presence of the beaks 

 in their stomacbs, as well as by the above-quoted instance on the South rookery (p. 09). 

 It is also possible that Mr. Orebnitski's suggestion is correct, that the presence of 

 pebbles in the stomachs is largely to be accounted for by assuming that they are 

 swallowed together with the octopods holding onto them. ^ That they also eat fish, at 

 least occasionally, is also unquestionable. But the following facts will as unquestion- 

 ably show that salmon and cod, at least, do not furnish any portion of the regular 

 summer diet of the Commander Islands seals worth mentioning: 



It may not be very much to the point to observe that three species of salmon 

 [Onoorhynchus) abound in all the rivers ou Bering Island, and that the fur seals are 

 not observed to feed upon them at the mouths of these rivers; but the fact that the 

 largest salmon river of the island, the Saranna River, is situated less than 7 miles 

 from the largest seal rookery without the seals coming over there to feed upon the 

 enormous numbers of salmon ascending that river is proof conclusive. The river and 

 the fishing establishment of the natives at Saranna have been described elsewhere 

 in this report, so that it will sufflce in the present connection to recall the statement 

 that the annual catch in that river alone varies between 20,000 and 100,000 salmon. 



As for the codfish, it is only necessary to state that they are common right off the 

 great north rookery of Bering Island. On September 16, 1895, we were anchored 

 in 10 fathoms of water less than a mile from Sivutchi Kamen and within hearing of 

 the roar from the rookery. A single cod line over the side of the steamer for a couple 

 of hours brought up three-fourths of a barrel of codfish. 



EFFECT OF DRIVING. 



One of the questions to which I paid special attention during the past summer was 

 that of the effect of driving upon the vitality of the seals. It has been variously 

 asserted that the repeated driving of the male seals on the Pribilof Islands ' has 

 resulted in the weakening of the procreative power of the bulls, and the consequent 

 degeneration and partial decrease in the number of seals on the rookeries. It has 

 also been hinted that the difference in the methods of driving the seals on the Pribi- 

 lofs and on the Commander Islands might account for the apparent lesser diminution 

 of the seals on the latter islands. The question is therefore one of the utmost 

 importance, and it was in order to specially make a direct comparison between the 



' Shown to be incorrect. The cephalops eatfin hy the fur seals are species found in deep water 

 and not far from the surface. 



