4 OANNKT.
tin- smell of the guano Whteh clinys to them. Tho small village of Canty Bay, as well ai tho greater number
of Hie inhabitants, usually become thoroughly impregnated with a somewhat unsavoury perfume shortly alter
the tn king of the ynnng Gnnnets. The process of preparing the hints, anil particularly the operation of betting
the 1'tit down hate oil, is Ugh!} odoriferous; • three months' residence in the collage of one of tlie fishermen
during the ant limn of ls7 V gave me many up|H>rl unities of ascertaining this fact. When a large uumlier or
lords have been bmnght in, the lahonr of removing iheir feathers occupies a considerable time. So gaunt and
grim is the aspect of the six or eight elderly lings employed at the work, as they sit in n circle in the dim
light of the ruined and gloomy plurking-shed, their heads w rapped round with cloths, hall'-smothered in dirt
and feathers, that a view u( the proceedings almost conveys to an observer the impressiou that he is gmtiug
at an assemblage or witches.
1 have frequently been at the Hass ltork during the autumn in former years, when large numbers of young
were taken. On the occa-ion of my last visit in 1874 the weather was exceedingly stormy and interfered
considerably with Hie work. A few extracts rrnm my note- or that year may possibly supply some information
concerning the management of the birds and the means of capture that has not hitherto been recorded. The
season commenced on the 6th of August, on which day throe dozen were procured. Heavy gales and almost
constant rain prevented another attempt till the 18th. Though the wind had dropped and the sea was eidm,
tho cliffs were still so foul with liquid guano (which is supposed to be highly injurious to the ropes) that no
descent was mode, and the work was confined to taking a few young from the tipper ledges near the summit
of the Ilock. For this purpose a long pole with a hook is used, the bird being seized by the seek and
drawn tn the top, where it is immediately killed. When all that ran be reached from one ledge liave
been procured, they nro collected into a heap and thrown over the cliffs into the water; the carcasses are
then picked up by a boat wdiieh is wailing on purpose to collect them. The younger and more active of the
crews from the small village at Canty liny are generally employed in the work of capturing and killing the
birds, while the older men remain in a boot a short distance ch-ar or the Bock, and on some prearranged signal
row in and pick up the bodies. John Kelly and Andrew M'Lean, two of the oldest hands (both over
70 years of agel, told me they met with a narrow escape, while so employed, a few years hack. They had, as
usual, been watching at some distance outside to see the birds Hung over. After fifty or sixty bad been
thrown down, as a sudden stoppage occurred, the) imagined the men had completed their work, so, pulling
close iu to the Hock, commenced at once to pick up. It turned out, however, that those on the hip had
merely rested for a few minutes, having scarcely cast over half the number they had killed. Hut two or three
had Ik-en got on hoard (John Kelly was paddling with the oars, while M'Lean was busily engaged iu lifting
in the birds with the boat-hook) when crash came a young (loose, striking an oar and breaking it iu two
pieces. The next moment another was dashed against the gunwale, and a third just missed the head of old
John, causing him to let go his unbroken oar. The poor fellows were now perfectly helpless immediately
below the spot from which the Geese were being thing. The Bock is so steep thai there was not the slightest
chance of their being seen from the top, while the clamour of the liannets (rendered doubly noisy by Iheir
recent bereavement-.), together with the roar of the sea, preluded all hopes that their cries could he heard.
Luckily the boat, though old, was strongly put togathte ; and, creeping at once beneath tho seats, the terrified
crew escaped with no more serious results than a g 1 scare. After having thrown over the whole of the birds
they had brought together on the summit of the Itoek, the men looked out for the boat, iu oilier to give the
signal for collecting the bodies from the water. As the craft remained invisible and a nasty swell was rolling
round the Hook, some uiMiap was anticipated; so hastening down to the hmding-placc, where Iheir own boat
was i red. they pulled round towards the quarter iu which the old men had last been seen. At length they
were found, little or none the worse, though half-sinolbcrcil wiib blood and feathers. Many uf the birds which
struck the boat bad been dashed to picves, sending the fragments Dying iu all directions. A young Gannct
UANNLT.
when just ready to leave flic nest is considerably heavier than an old bird, and, falling from such a height,
must have struck the boat with immense fiirce.
Some young Geese that had entirely lost the down were taken on the ISth OR August for specimens; and 1
ary Goos ." It DOC
ering on the bead
iave seldt m seen o
lie. As tsual, I r
amongst themselve
n three a ud four di
ent. On hundred
the rocks wer
We wer 3 out agai
i last day
'fanning
of the se
of Gaune
also obtained one in the stage termed hy the natives a " Pi
the whole of tho down disappears with the exception of a
resembles a wig, and gives the bird a most comical cxprcsso
perfectly as this specimen, whose portrait is given in the Plate.usual,remarked many of tho
youngsters very ill-tempered, snapping and quarrelling continually themselves. On the 19th,
west and weather fine, we were again out to the Eock, and betwi
tuken; I also procured four young birds for rearing in confinement.One and eighty-)!
Geese were obtained on the 20th. The weather was dull and damp and tho were extremely dirty;
ropes, however, were used, though the work was far from n;
21th, and five dozen young Geese were brought back. Thi
operation. Having now gained all the knowledge concerning the " farming Ganncts " that could pus
be acquired in this district, I turned my attention to the large Hocks of Skuas which had lately shown
themselves in the Firth. As the crew from Canty Bay sailed with mc, the taking of the Gccsc was carried on
hy fresh hands from North Berwick. The weather, however, was much against a good " harvest," and but few
more birds were brought ashore.
On the ,"i)ih of September, the wind being light from the south and a calm sea, some large flocks of
QannetsWere observed about halfway between the Bass and the -May Island; these birds appeared fo have
found lis.li of some kind I probably lurring-j \ cry plentiful and close to the surface. The graceful man nor in
which tho Gannct takes its prey, steadying itself for a moment in the air and then darling headlong beneath
the waves, must bo seen to be thoroughly understood. Many of the birds were busily engaged dashing down
in the usual fashion from a height of twenty or thirty, or perhaps forty, yards; 1 also noticed several were
rising only a few feet from the water, and, alter making two or three strokes with their wings, immediately
plunging down again, their line of flight in such eases representing a perfect curve of ten or fifteen feet in height
and about twentv or thirty yarns iu length. I imagine, when this nietbo i of capturing their prey is billoncd,
that the shoals uf fish must he close to the surface. It is only in the autumn and uff the Seoleh coast that I
have witnessed this style of fishing. As far as f have been able to ascertain from constant personal observation
all round our coasts, the Gannct (when iu a state of nature) does not attempt lo dive while swimming. As I
have repeatedly watched my lame birds indulging in Ibis performance, il is evident they are quite capable of
obtaining their food in this manner, if so iucliued. Il is, I believe, seldom that these birds prey upon the
lythe or pollock whiting, which is excessively abundant in this part of the Firth; I am unable to recall a
single instance where I have seen a fish of this species brought as food to the Rock. On one occasion an
immature Goose of about three years of age was secured after darting down and seizing a lythe struggling on
a line. The Gannct appears to be a good judge of fish, and usually selects only the best flavoured and most
nutritious of the finny tribe. Towards the end of the month there were large shoals of mackerel along the
shore, and the lisli attracted numbers of liannets ; the birds occasionally swept down so close to the rocks,
that it was a wonder how they escaped destruction in the shallow water.
Heavy gales occurred early in October ; but as the weather moderated on the 7th, I made an attempt to
visit the Bass, in order to learn if all the young Geese had left their breeding-places. ' tn approaching the south
side wc discovered that it was utterly impossible lo effect a lauding without considerable risk, as a terrible
swell was surging round the Itoek. Iu order to obtain a view, sail was lowered and the boat pulled round ;
it was, however, necessary to keep at a respectful distance, owing to the surf. Though all the breeding-stations
were carefully examined through the glasses, not a single young Goose could be distinguished on any of the