Mr. George Tate on the Fame Islands. 229 



and when once they have swum over their hereditaiy waves, they 

 never return to the nest ; the mothers, too, forget all their recent 

 tameness, and recover their wildness with their genial element*/' 



The Stapcl lies southward of the Fosseland, from which it is 

 separated by a narrow channel, dry at low tides. The pinnacles 

 from which it derives its name are three rude pillars of basalt, 

 about 40 feet high, standing in the sea apart from the island on 

 the south. Formerly there were four of these pillars, but, some 

 years ago, one of them was thrown down by a violent storm. 

 Like other trap rocks, the columns are jointed, and broken into 

 step-like ledges. On the summits, and on every narrow ledge 

 and in every crevice, the Guillemots {llria Troile) and Kitti- 

 wakes or Annets {Larus tridadylus) lay their eggs and bring 

 forth their young. "With amazing instinctive skill they drop 

 their eggs on spots where, according to human judgment, they 

 could not rest, but where they are maintained in security till the 

 brood is hatched. Hundreds of these birds are sitting or stand- 

 ing on the rocks, hovering in the air or swimming in the sea, 

 their plaintive cries mingling with the sound of the waves dash- 

 ing around the base of the columns, and, with the hoarse gurgling 

 of the waters up the wide and deep clefts of the rocks, add impres- 

 siveness to a scene, which, if once witnessed, cannot be forgotten. 

 Notwithstanding the vast numbers of the birds crowded on and 

 around these pinnacles, there seemed no contention among them 

 — no striving for the mastery — no oppression of the weak by 

 the strong ; and I could not, on witnessing the harmony which 

 prevailed, but wish that rational men would learn from the fowls 

 of the air to live together in peace, trusting that the benevolent 

 Father of all has provided enough for all his children. 



The Wamses are two pretty large islands northward of the 

 Fosseland, having a scanty vegetation on a peaty soil impregnated 

 with the exuviae of birds. On the North Wamses only five spe- 

 cies of plants were obseiTcd, and on the South Wamses nine 

 8pecies,the principal being Cochlearia officinalis and Silenemaritima, 

 The North Wamses is remarkable as the chief breeding-place of 

 the Cormorant {Carbo cormoranus) ; and when approaching from 

 leeward, a disagreeable smell is perceived at some distance, arising 

 from the filthy nests of these voracious birds. Besides the Cor- 

 morant, the Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus), the Herring Gull 

 (Larus argeiifatus), the Eider Duck, the Puffin, and occasionally 

 the Sheldrake or Oyster-Catcher (HcBinatojms ostralegus), find 

 here a fitting place for bringing forth their young. 



The two Harcar Islands, which are a little to the east from the 

 Wamses, and which at low water form only one island, demand 

 a passing notice; for on these, the Forfarshire steamer was 

 * Donovan's Middle Ages, vol. iv. p. 239. 



