NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 191 



than those of the Razor-bill, and more difficult to get at, as I 

 think is usually the case. 



Bridled Guillemot. — Una troile, Lin., var. Jacrimans (Gould). 

 — I neglected, in the hurry of disembarking from the yacht, to 

 take my binoculars, and so lost the opportunity of scanning all the 

 further-off ledges for Bridled birds. I only succeeded in making 

 out one amongst six birds on a ledge near to the archway. Though 

 abundant at many west coast stations, this variety seems rare here, 

 and at the Shiant Isles. 



Razor-bill. — Alca torda, Lin. — Common also, and many eggs in 

 very accessible places, under loose boulders in the dry goes, or in 

 the rents in the natter parts, or within easy reach of the tops of 

 the cliffs on the upper ledges. 



Cormorant. — Phalacrocorax carbo, Lin.' — A few were breeding 

 on the rock — No. 4 — of Haskeir Aag. 



Shag. — Phalacrocorax cristatus, Faber. — A considerable number 

 upon No. 3 of Haskeir Aag — I should say about 50 pairs. 



II. — On Method in Collecting Natural History Specimens. By 

 Mr. J. M. Campbell. 



In the course of his remarks Mr. Campbell stated he had often 

 with regret noticed the absence of valuable notes or particulars 

 regarding specimens placed in natural history collections. He said 

 that when natural history is taken up as a subject for study, a 

 collection of specimens or illustrative material becomes a necessity, 

 and in the formation of such a collection much may be learnt by 

 due care in its accumulation. Specimens when taken ought to 

 have locality, date, and any other particulars which may suggest 

 themselves, attached to the objects themselves, or noted in such a 

 manner that they may be "get-at-able"; otherwise the infor- 

 mation will be almost, worthless. He did not by this sweeping 

 assertion mean to say that those who are what are called "mere 

 collectors" waste their time. They may collect natural objects 

 merely because such are beautiful or pleasing to their sight, and 

 in these circumstances they seem to the non-observer of any rule-of- 

 thumb work as much in the right as one who purchases a fine 

 piece of art-work but pays no attention to the manufacture or the 

 material it is made from. Those who make a collection with the 



