The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-03-06
s HE 81 AS & Is a B =
AKIN ; AZ CENSUS

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CENSUS
.Haskin.
ito ten. The pods. or family groups,
are separated by lines Invisible save
TO the seals themselves. but they
serve TO keep the families together
Many erevices and holes in the rocks
give the babies a place TO play hide
and seek. The more secluded the 1o-1
cation, the more the male seal prizes
Two enumerators work together In
counting the young seals upon q mar;
row strip Of beach. One passes along
the inside or the rookery and the
other along the waters edge: Be-
tween them, they scnt of an indiSid-1
snal group. and force the puppies to
run out along the shore s', counting N
1 them as they run. The process is Ike
sheep as they pass through
IA narrow gate. a careful search IS
then made in every crerice to locate
any concealed ones. .
Where the rookeries extend
;forther back into the island, a num-
Der of groups or families may bel
massed together Then the natives
are hired to assist the enumerators.l
The little seals are allowed TO FUN
OF in groups of two's. three's anu
,four.s, being counted as they run. II
IA stampede begins. more natives are
called to form another guard, ana |
the process is begun all over gain.
BY a process like this. over IL ,oool
seal pups wire counted in four hours
$50, !. IA q s1ln1eTf
Hutchinson Hill on st. Paul.s Island
the largest Of the Pribilof group. The]
family groups ranged from fourteen
to 235 in number The first seal CEN
sus was attempted in 1912. a year
after the signing Of the treaty. since
then steady increase of twelve ana
one-half per cent has been noted.
The three most important features
OF the census are the adult males, the /
adult females and the young. but these
do not include all of the seal populal-l
ton Females under three years Old
are not included in this class, nor arei
the bachelor seals. Under the PRESENT.
census methods. these have to be es-|
timated. 1t is believed that the esti-i
nation is fairly accurate, being based
upon the approximately equal birth
rate of the sexes. The annual in-i
RCTGaSS Liz
number of three-year old females who |
contributed to it.
by the last census, the number OF
seals owned by the United States was
fixed at 3G1, S44 This is a tremendo us
increase, for there we're less than
10000 in the herd when attention was
first called to its need of pressrvation
in 1906. The demonstrating will not
continue many eyars. because, With
the rapid increase, the seal popula-
ton will soon reach millions. Emu
meration will then become an impos-
sibility, during the short period fol-
lowing the breeding season, which is
the only time when the young can be
counted.
The treaty Of j 9ift, by which such
excellent protective measures were
made possible, viii expire in 1926
Long before this, 1t is likely that the
seal herd Will be greater than before
the rayages OF the seal fishers began
The advantages OF protecting the COW
seals during the breeding period have
now become so we'll Established that.
it is improbable that their unrestrictS 4
ed Slaughter Will ever again be per-
mitted. Between the years of SO
and 1890 the average annual yield of1
seaI skins was over sc, GG0. BY 800
lit had fallen below 20 900.
A number Of seals are now being
killed each year under the supervision
OF the United States government. The
seal meat is used for food by natives.
OF the Pribilof Islands, who are yards
of this nation, and are being provided
for in manner Similar to the pro-
vision made for Indians. These ma
tives are not permitted to kill seals
the killing Is done unde supervision.
is the bachelor seal. a herd of these
bachelors is quietly surrounded and
driven into the interior, as easily as
"a flock OF sheep. The killing is dong
zbyssa man with a. club, and the skin
ming is finished as QUICK as possible
The skins are counted by the goy-1
eminent agents. and placed in salt for
a month, before being sent to the
world fur markets IN London.
The scarcity Of tile worlds meat
supply, and the increasing number of
seals as REVEALED by the last census,
suggest the possibility Of shipping
seal meat to the United States for
food. Those Who have tasted 1t say
that meat roma young Seal us deli
Ecious in flavor, and that seal steak
would. be. a opnlar addition to fashs
ionable hotel menu
Seals spend the greater part Of their
lives in the open sea, where they live
upon fsh. Thus, their range is prac-
atically limit less and their increased
would require merely the establish
mem Of new edings grounds
Through the conservatdonso OF this little
known national resource, the Ameri-l
can people may be provided with al
new and important item on the ma
HtionaI bill of fare. 3ss NJ
Ii FRESH BAY SHAD
You can get them at Smithyss Pike
AdEertise 3 81