THE BASS ROCK AND ITS BIRDS. 149 



air-cells on its body — its pneumatic skin — render 

 it light and buoyant in the extreme ; its wonderfid 

 extent of wing enables it to keep the air for hours 

 without the least fatigue. It is, however, incapable 

 of diving, and the only possible way of sinking its 

 air-charged body beneath the water is by hurling 

 itself down from a great height. It should also 

 be remarked that the nostrils of the Gannet have 

 become obsolete, probably through uncountable 

 generations of natural selection, thus preventing 

 any injury arising from water being driven into 

 them by the terrific force of contact with the sea 

 when the bird is fishing. 



In August the Gannet harvest takes place, and 

 vast numbers of the young are killed for the sake 

 of their feathers and their fat. Formerly a large 

 trade was done in young Gannets, the tenant of the 

 Bass baking them and hawking them about the 

 neighbouring country at a shilling per bird ! Now- 

 a-days, I am informed, the taste for baked " Solan 

 Goose" has undergone a change, and the birds are 

 almost unsalable. The feathers, too, are in less 

 demand among the makers of feather-beds, owing 

 to the unpleasant smell which clings to them in 

 spite of all processes of purification. The curious 

 visitor may see at Canty Bay the huge ovens where 



