INVESTIGATION" OE THE EUK-SEAL INDUSTEY OE ALASKA. 531 



Mr. Clark. No; but the skins are practically the same length. 

 Skin No. 86 in this 1912 list is from an animal of 70£ pounds. That 

 animal is considerably above the average, but it has a salted skin 

 length of 43 inches and a girth of 24 inches, and its weight is 5 pounds 

 12| ounces. Now, the next skin is 126 No. It has an animal weight 

 of 105 pounds. That is an unusual animal, almost twice the weight 

 that is assigned to a normal 2 year old. Its skin is 42^ inches long 

 and 25^ inches wide. It weighs 6 pounds 12| ounces. This was a 

 solid, hard animal, nothing flabby about it at all. Its weight was 

 very heavy for its size. Its skin did not vary very much from that of 

 the other animals in size, but in weight it was slightly greater than 

 the others. These other animals of less weight were leaner, reduced 

 in flesh, and hence of less weight as animals. They probably did not 

 get such good feed, but the skin on them was not very different. 

 They were lean, skmney animals. This animal, however, weighed 

 105 pounds and was in good condition. 



The Chairman. Where were these skins taken from? 



Mr. Clark. At a killing on St. Paul Island in the season of 1912. 



The Chairman. The records are made of them in 1912? 



Mr. Clark. Yes, sir; it is in my record for 1912. 



The Chairman. You have taken the weights from those skins as 

 they were recorded ? 



Mr. Clark. Yes, sir. The serial number of the skin is given and 

 it is recorded. 



The Chairman. So that if there was an unusual amount of blubber 

 on some of them, that has something to do with the weights as much 

 as the-girth? 



Mr. Clark. Now, I can swear to these skins, because they were 

 skinned under my eyes and we watched every step that the natives 

 made, and they were not excessively blubbered. 



The Chairman. Now, I wish you would look up the London records 

 and see if you can identify them. 



Mr. Clark. That would be impossible to identify these 205 skins. 



I would like to mention another skin, skin No. 151. It is from an 

 animal weighing 69^ pounds. Its length is 32J inches — now, that is 

 getting down to Mr. Elliott's yearling class skin length, is it not? 

 Its breadth is 29 inches. In other words, it is a short broad skin. 

 The weight of the skin is 7 pounds and 2\ ounces. Would you say 

 that was blubbered heavily ? 



Mr. McGuire. From that experiment 



Mr. Clark (interposing). Now, here is another skin, No. 152, from 

 an 80^-pound animal. The skin is 37 inches long and 26£ inches 

 wide, and weighs 7 pounds \\\ ounces. Skin No. 153 is from an 

 animal weighing 85 pounds, the skin measuring 41 inches long, 24 

 inches wide, and weighing 6 pounds 1\ ounces. Here we have a skin 

 41 inches long and 24 inches wide. What is gained in length is lost 

 in width. Another is 37 inches long and 26 inches wide. What it 

 lacks in length it gains in breadth. Here is one 32 \ inches long and 

 29 inches in breadth, a larger loss in length and a larger gain in 

 breadth. When you take those areas and the sizes of the skins by 

 means of two dimensions you find that they equalize one another and 

 they have a right to weigh nearly the same. But if you should pick 

 out that 32 1 -inch skin without knowing its breadth, you might have 

 one of vour blubber skins 



