114 



THE OOLOGIST 



SPHENISCUS DEMERSUS 



The Jack-ass Penguin of South Af- 

 rica is an interesting representative 

 of the Penguin Family and worthy 

 of a little special mention. 



On Novemher tenth, 1921, the writ- 

 er obtained permission to visit Das- 

 sen Island off the west coast of Cape 

 Colony, and four hours only by steam- 

 er from Capetown. 



The permission to land on the is- 

 land is just unusual enough to cre- 

 ate a feeling of obligation to the 

 South African Government, along 

 with the pleasure in the anticipation 

 of seeing these weird creatures at 

 close range. 



One can only land there in the gov- 

 ernment boat or one of the little sup- 

 ply steamers run by the Guano Island 

 Company, making the regular trip to 

 provision the few men whose duties 

 are associated with the Government 

 Light House or with the company 

 that has the guano and the penguin 

 egg concessions. 



It was a stormy trip both going and 

 returning, and one to be long remem- 

 bered for its discomforts. Lack of 

 protection and the absence of any 

 kind of accommodation on the boat 

 or on the island were discounted 

 from the beginning, however, as it 

 was made provisional when the per- 

 mit was granted, that nothing but 

 the passage was included. As the 

 transportation was gratis and the 

 weather beyond the power of even a 

 bird-lover to change, there were no 

 complaints, and no disposition for 

 the writer to be anything but happy. 



Fortunately there were two other 

 bird men in the party, and the three 

 of us did not want anything beyond 

 what was amply provided for by our- 

 selves in advance. The trip was in 

 all respects a success, from 6 a. m. 

 till night, when we left the boat with 

 our loot and accumulated data on the 

 Dassen Island bird life. 



As we sighted the island, and skirt- 

 ed along the shore before we came to 

 the landing place, we could see that 

 the penguins literally covered the 

 rtrand everywhere. No wonder that 

 the passengers on the occasional 

 passing boats are struck with sur- 

 prise at the unusual sight, and relate 

 stories that are often classed with 

 the proverbial fisherman's yarn. It 

 was soon evident, however, that the 

 tales are not exaggerated. 



During the season of several weeks 

 in 1921, when the Government conces- 

 sion permitted the Guano Island Com- 

 pany to take the penguin eggs, just 

 under a million fresh eggs had been 

 gathered and sold on the market all 

 over the Union of South Africa. 



Penguin eggs are considered more 

 or less of a delicacy, probably be- 

 cause of the fact that they are some- 

 thing out of the ordinary, and the op- 

 portunity of indulging in the unusual 

 diet a short period only. The white 

 does not harden with boildng, ibut 

 remains in jelly form. Mixed with 

 the mellow yolk, however, it makes 

 a stiff sort of paste. The pleasure of 

 eating a penguin egg is increased by 

 the surprise that it is not strong, or 

 fishy, as one would naturally expect 

 it to be. 



The enjoyment of eating them is 

 not due to an acquired taste. One 

 either likes them and brags about it, 

 or he doesn't like them at all, and 

 that is the end of it. One cannot be- 

 come a slave to the habit. Nature 

 and transportation take care of that. 

 They are, as a matter of fact, mostly 

 used in cooking. Being larger than 

 hens' eggs, and cheaper, If anything, 

 the idea of economy easily creates a 

 prejudice in the favor of the penguin 

 product that would not otherwise be 

 noticed. 



When we came to anchor off the 

 landing place the shore seemed to 

 be completely covered for a mile both 



