New-York tribune., 1910-07-24

fur seal service, which recommended 70
Secretary Nagel the calling OF an ln'ei nA-
tionsI conference. said last night that ne
hoped DR.. Jordan would make some mead
way i'm his advocacy Of an internauonai
game law. Personally. Dr. Lucas salos ho
was skeptical of success
The Brooklyn Institute director Is In per-
feet accord with the university president
on the question of killing the superfuous
male seals. There never has been 10
date" said he. amy killing of young males
which has injured the herd on the Pribylos
Islands. If the young males are not killed
they grow up into lot OF old bulls OF no
value TO the herd. and disturb the breeding
ground with their continual fighting II -
the pelasic sealing that Is doing all the
mischief Unless that is stopped nothing
We can do will hinder the depletion OF the
herd Yet so long as the government
guards the breeding grounds carefuIy
enough seals will escape the pelagic seal
srs to form the nucleus for very large
herd should the pelagic sealing ever cease
and allow such herd 10 be built up.
Those who wish a total cessation OF kiii-
ing on land either have not been tn the
islands or have not studied the subject
Furthermore Mr. Lembkey. WHO has been
attacked. is the man above all others VINO
has stood for the preservation Of the herd
He insisted all along that the lessees OF the
islands should release from each killing the
best males, to form reserve for breeding
purposes.
When the Dixon bill, which enabodies all
the recommendations of the advisory board
with regard to the conduct of the seal hsn-
cries, was before Congress last March,
Mr Hornaday went down to Washington
ard made a vigorous appeal for cessation
OF killing on the islands for ten years Sucn
a proposition Is out OF the question II was
pointed out that prohibition Of the sort
might make the other nations better dis
posed toward forbidding pelagic sealing
among their subjects. Under the present
law the killing on the Islands can be
stopped at a Cabinet meeting. But ths
fact that the Secretary OF State has never
asked the Secretary of Commerce and La
hor to issue the necessary order shows that
no nation has seen fit to request 1t This
is all the more significant when 1t is con-
sidered that the present treaty OF the
United States with Japan will expire next
year, or the year after. and undoubtedly
the State Department is already working
on the details OF new treaty.
Favors Branding Female Pups.
DR. Lucas is anxious TO see the. expert
ment OF branding the young female pups
and thus destroying the value OF their pelts,
renewed Branding was tried in 1896, Dr.
Lucas said. but was given up because the
electric apparatus sent up TO the islands
proved too weak for the wet skins, and be-
cause the North American Commercial
Company objected strongly to the conse-
quent disturbance of the rookeries- But
the institute director believes that strong
er electrical apparatus, which could DO the
branding much more swiftly. would not
cause any serious disturbance of the breed
ing grounds, and would so ruin the pelts OF
the breeding seals as to discourage, if not
wipe out. pelagic sealing
The scheme has been shown TO be
practical" ne said. because some little
bull pups which were branded by mistake
in 1896 have grown TO be big bulls by now.
and can be seen on the islands every sum
nler with the three transverse marks OF
the branding across their backs At the
present stage of the game nothing can be
lost by repeating the experiment, and
everything may be gained