416 SULA BASS ANA. 



Kilda, but also throughout the Hebrides, by cautiously ap- 

 proaching them in a boat under sail, when gorged ^A ith fish 

 and asleep upon the Avater. It requires great dexterity, 

 however, to succeed in this ; and I have often seen it fail, 

 especially in calm weather, or Avhen there is only a slight 

 breeze, the bird being awakened by the noise of the gliding 

 of the boat through the water, and rising on wing, when it 

 invariably disgorges with a loud harsh scream. The pasture 

 on the island of Borreray is nearly destroyed by the Gannets, 

 Avhich have dug great numbers of large deep holes in the 

 turf, to procure materials for their nests, -which are composed 

 externally of sea-weed. The latter substance many of them 

 must procure from a distance of sixty miles or more, there 

 not being a sufficiency in any of the St. Kilda isles. In 

 fact, I have seen a Gannet flying, apparently from Harris, 

 with a large quantity of sea-weed in its bill. The force with 

 which the Gannet plunges from on wing in pursuit of a fish 

 is astonishingly great. The following story, illustrating this 

 point, was related to me by more than one person, both in 

 St. Kilda and Harris, and I believe it to be true : — " Several 

 years ago, an open boat w-as returning from St. Kilda to 

 Harris, and a few herrings happened to be lying in the 

 bottom, close to the edge of the ballast. A Gannet passing 

 over head, stopping for a moment, suddenly darted down 

 upon the fish, and passed through the bottom of the boat as 

 far as the middle of the body, which being retained in that 

 position by one of the crew-, effectually stopped the leak until 

 they had reached their destination. The long streak of foam 

 which follow^s the plunge of the Gannet may be distinctly 

 seen at the distance of more than a mile, when the bird itself 

 is far below the surface, and of course invisible." 



The inhabitants of St. Kilda use the young birds as 

 food, and kill vast numbers of the old solely for their 

 feathers, Avhich they give as rent to the tacksman. The 

 gullet, however, is kept as a receptacle for the oil of the 

 Fulmar. The beautiful white down of this bird answers, as 

 well as that of the Swan, for tippets, being left upon the 

 skin after the feathers have been removed. 



As already stated, there is generally but a single egg in 



