543 



PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY. 



NINTH LESSON. 



SCENE FROM THE FIFESHIRE COAST IN MARCH. VELVET DUCKS. CORMO- 

 RANTS, LARKS, LAPWINGS, SHELLS, AND A SEA-DEVIL. VARIOUS OBSERVA- 

 TIONS. MODES OF PREPARING SKELETONS AND DIGESTIVE ORGANS OF 

 BIRDS. A STEAM-BOAT IN A STORM. RECOLLECTIONS OF THE HEBRIDES. 



Few landscapes in Britain combine more of the elements of 

 natural and artificial beauty and grandeur than that which now 

 presents itself to our view. From this craggy eminence on 

 the Fifeshire coast, one sweep of the eye discovers the wide 

 entrance of the Frith of Forth, with the Bass and North Berwick 

 Law, two mounds of plutonic rock that have emerged from 

 the primal abyss, the gently rising grounds of East Lothian, 

 blending into the dim ridge of the Lammermuir, which runs 

 into the Peebles-shire hills, the Pentlands clad in their wintry 

 garb of pure white, the nearer prominences of Salisbury Craigs 

 and Arthur's Seat, the beautiful expanse of waters, with its 

 islands and undulated shores. Right opposite is the capital of 

 old Scotland. How beautifully, ridge beyond ridge, rises the 

 noble city, from the sea-shore to the crowning heights of the 

 Calton Hill, the High Street, and the Castle Rock ! 



As a Scot, 1 feel proud of thee, Edina, thou queen of cities .' 

 See how the elements conspire to adorn the picture : the strong 

 blasts of the east wind have ruffled the bosom of the Frith ; a 

 fleet of small vessels has taken shelter in the lee of Inchkeith ; 

 a huge grey hail-cloud pours down its long winding streams 

 on the valley of Dalkeith ; and the smoke of the city spreads to 

 the westward, like a dense autumnal mist. Let the Englishman, 

 on Shooter's Hill, gaze with wonder and delight on the vast mass 

 of brick that constitutes the metropolis of his native land, and 

 of the commercial world, the long-extended forest of masts that 

 springs from the silver Thames, the smooth landscape, and the 



