Ornithology of St. Kilda. 75 



patches of cultivated ground^ chiefly sown with grain and 

 potatoes, and enclosed with a rough wall, which keeps out 

 the sheep and cows. Nearer the shore stands the store, the 

 church, and the manse. St. Kilda is plentifully supplied 

 with the best of water, both from springs and from the rivulets 

 which rise on Connacher. The steep sides of this hill are 

 seared in several places by small ravines, worn out by the 

 streams which dash down in rainy weather. Climbing the 

 hill in a south-westerly direction, and passing over the 

 shoulder between MuUach-scaill and Connacher, a wild and 

 novel scene presents itself, far more picturesque than the 

 portion of St. Kilda we have left behind us. Glen Mor, the 

 ^'Amazon's Glen,^^ or '^the Glen,^^ as it is known in St. 

 Kilda, stretches out at our feet, sloping gently down to the 

 distant Atlantic at West Bay. The hills on either side of 

 this romantic glen fall almost sheer down in precipices to the 

 sea, and on them the Fulmars, great numbers of Guillemots, 

 Razorbills, and Gulls rear their young, whilst here and there, 

 in a few favourite spots, the Shearwaters burrow in the rich 

 soft soil. At the extremity of the glen the clifl's are low and 

 the shore is very rocky ; but a landing can sometimes be 

 made here, when the usual place in East Bay is inaccessible. 

 The Glen contains the finest pasturage in St. Kilda, and it is 

 there most of the cows are grazed. Not a tree nor a shrub 

 relieves the monotony of the bare hillsides or sheltered valleys 

 of St. Kilda ; but grass grows luxuriantly, making it literally 

 an " emerald isle ; " and primroses, sorrel, and many other 

 plants thrive on the cliffs and sloping banks. The wild hill- 

 sides are thickly studded with rough hovels, or " cleats,^' 

 made of boulders and roofed with turf, in which the St.-Kil- 

 dans dry their " turfs " and grass, and in which the sheep 

 take refuge during storms. I found the male population 

 exceedingly civil, obliging, merry fellows, anxious to assist 

 me in every way they could ; whilst the ladies were not want- 

 ing in hospitality to the " Sassenach,^^ many of them bringing 

 eggs and birds, as soon as it became known that I had come 

 to their islands specially to collect and examine such objects. 

 When I landed scarcely a sea-bird was to be seen, save 



