INVESTIGATION OP THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 607 



per cent. After Mr. Marsh had finished this experiment on the 23d 

 day of May, the skins were again placed in salt and kept there until 

 the 17th of October, 1912, when they were taken out of salt at the 

 time when all the skins on the island were taken out of salt for the 

 purpose of bundling and shipping them to London. At the time they 

 were taken out for the purpose of bundling they were again weighed, 

 as were all skins shipped that year. When they were weighed out of 

 salt the second time, no attention whatever was paid to cleansing 

 them from the salt which adhered to the skins, and they were weighed 

 with such salt as might adhere to them, just as were all skins. The 

 result of this second weighing in salt shows that the skins increased 

 slightly in weight over the weight found at the first salt weighing, be- 

 cause of the salt which adhered to them on the second weighing, 

 which was brushed off of them on the first weighing. However, the 

 weights of these skins, as shown by their second salt weighing, still 

 were in each case considerably under the green weight of the same 

 skin. 



Mr. McGutre. Even after they had been salted the second time? 



Mr. Lembkey. Even after they had been salted the second time, 

 yes; and taken out of the salt and weighed with such salt as might 

 adhere to them. 



I desire to have inserted in the record this list of the individual 

 weights of those skins and made a part of my statement at this point. 



The Chairman. Whose list is that, Mr. Lembkey ? 



Mr. Lembkey. This list was furnished to me by Mr. Marsh himself, 

 and the title is as follows : 



Weights of 50 fur seal skins tagged with copper tags bearing consecutive numbers, 

 before and after salting. Food killing, October 19, 1911, St. Paul Island, Alaska. 

 Skinned as usual at food killing and with a moderate or average amount or moisture. 

 Weights include metal tag with wire, averaging 0.21 ounces each. 



I might state further to identify the table, that these three sheets 

 were given to me by Mr. Marsh on the islands. 



Mr. Watkins. That is twenty-one hundredths of 1 ounce ? 



Mr. Lembkey. Yes. 



Mr. Watkins. The result, then, of that investigation, as I under- 

 stand it, is that the salting of green hides lessen the weight of the skin, 

 and salting the dry skins increases the wieght of the skins. 



Mr. Lembkey. No, sir. No mention was made whatever of dry 

 skins. 



Mr. Watkins. You said they were salted and the weight was less 

 than that or decreased? 



Mr. Lembkey. Yes. 



Air. Watkins. And after that they were resalted, and the weight 

 was slightly increased ? 



Air. Lembkey. Perhaps I did not make myself plain. The skins 

 were salted green and allowed to remain in salt for a period of about 

 seven months. They were then taken out of the salt, and all the 

 salt brushed off of them and the skins cleansed of salt as much as 

 possible, and weighed. The result of that weighing showed they 

 had decreased in weight the number of ounces stated by Mr. Marsh — 

 0.45 of a pound, or 6.8 per cent. Then the skins were put in the 

 salt again. 



Mr. Watkins. I infer they were dry at that stage? 



