54 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



body of the Seals was struck about fifty miles N.E. of the 

 southern patch, and work commenced. Tbe ice is described as 

 the worst ever seen ; huge arctic pans were met with, and the 

 whelping-ice was so thin as to be dangerous, constantly opening, 

 and with " slob " in abundance — altogether different from the 

 conditions usually experienced ; "a tremendous swell was among 

 it, and pans would split and tear asunder, throwing men into the 

 water without warning. It was highly dangerous work, and the 

 crews were forced to keep together." On the 22nd March the 

 ' Leopard ' finished killing, but experienced very heavy weather on 

 the return voyage to St. John's, where she arrived on the 27th of 

 March with 12,440 young Harps of excellent quality ; the fat 

 was said to be over four inches thick, and the pelts weighed from 

 65 to 81 pounds. Although at the date when killing ceased the 

 young Seals were rapidly taking to the water, their fine condition 

 is advanced as a proof that a day or two's delay in the departure 

 of the vessels would be beneficial to all. 



Equally bad weather was experienced at the Gulf fishery. 

 The ' Harlaw ' left Channel (Basque) on the 10th of March, and 

 four days later struck a patch of Hooded Seals near Deadman's 

 Island ; but, as several schooners were there, and the patch not 

 a large one, she went in search of the main body of Harps, which 

 she discovered off Meat Cove. The greatest difficulty was expe- 

 rienced in getting the Seals, as the state of the ice was such as 

 to make venturing upon it very dangerous, and the swell was too 

 great to permit of using boats ; about 8000 young Harps were, 

 however, secured, when a hurricane came on, and she had to run 

 for shelter to the Magdalen Islands, leaving thousands of Seals, 

 all of large size, on the ice. The catch of the ' Harlaw ' was 

 some 8000 young Harps, and about 1000 old and 500 young 

 Hoods, which are estimated to be equivalent to 13,000 young 

 Harps. Other vessels suffered by the terrible weather experi- 

 enced in the Gulf; the ' Algerine' had a large number of Seals 

 panned, of which she secured some 3000, but had to run for 

 shelter to Prince Edward's Island, and the remainder were all 

 lost to her; many Seals were washed ashore on Prince Edward's 

 Island, which doubtless were part of those killed by the 

 ' Algerine.' 



No vessels were wrecked this year, but the ' Newfoundland,' 



