INVESTIGATION OF THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 481 



The pups we are talking about have passed a winter at sea and all 

 of them have returned to the island in the second season. 



Mr. Stephens. Commercial killing, as I understand it, is the killing 

 of seals for their skins. 



Mr. Clark. Yes, sir. The commercial killing was done, of course, 

 under the direction of the lessees, and was done with the definite 

 intent of giving them the quota of skins that the law allowed. Those 

 killings occur in June and July. 



Mr. Stephens. To what size was that killing confined ? 



Mr. Clark. According to some regulations, they were not to fall 

 below the limit of 5 pounds and not to exceed the limit of 8^ pounds. 

 Of course, that weight has varied sometimes. Sometimes 6 pounds 

 was the minimum; sometimes it was 5£ pounds, and sometimes 5 

 pounds. 



Mr. Stephens. But it was confined to sizes between those two 

 extremes ? 



Mr. Clark. Yes, sir. 



The Chairman. In this connection, I want to ask you why it is 

 that the "extra small'' pup skin or the "small" pup skin brings less 

 money in London than does the "large" pup skin? 



Mr. Clark. Naturally, as you go down to the bottom of this cate- 

 gory, you are getting to smaller animals all the time. 



The Chairman. Does not the price indicate that they are smaller 

 animals, or the skins of smaller animals ? 



Mr. Clark. The designation "extra small pups" indicates the same 

 tiling. 



The Chairman. Do the designations "small pups" and "extra 

 small pups" indicate the same thing? 



Mr. Clark. Yes. sir; and the designation "extra extra small 

 pups," also. 



The Chairman. What I meant to ask you is this: Is there any dif- 

 ference in the prices of skins mentioned as "large pups," "middling 

 pups," "small pups," "extra small pups," and "extra extra small 

 pups?" 



Mr. Clark. Naturally there would be, because there would be a 

 smaller skin on the smaller animal. 



The Chairman. Would you say that that classification does not 

 mean anything ? Why do they call them that ? 



Mr. Clark. I do not question that. 



The Chairman. You said that it did not mean anything. 



Mr. Clark. No, sir; I meant that it does not mean pups. I am 

 talking of pups here that are born on the island ; they are pups until 

 they leave, and when they come back the next year they are year- 

 lings. 



The Chairman. Those trade-marks you spoke of must indicate the 

 sizes of the skins more or less ; is that true ? 



Mr. Clark. Naturally they do; yes, sir. 



The Chairman. Because they bring less money. If the sale of 

 1910, for instance, had been such as you have described, if I do not 

 misunderstand you, we should have had more money for the skins if 

 the skins were all alike. Some brought, as I understand it, $28.50 — 

 that is, the skins of small pups — while the skins of large pups brought 

 as much as $54 in London. Those are matters of public record. 



53490—14 31 



