ST. KILDA 135 



feathers of the back, which in itself by deadening their 

 hearing would contribute to making them deaf, and the 

 smallness of their closely protected ears would further 

 increase their difficulty in hearing. 



Another effective plan of taking Gannets and other 

 sea-birds — an old method practised by the St. Kildians in 

 Martin's time,* and still in use among the islanders — is to 

 catch them with a running noose at the end of a long 

 tapering rod. For the loan of a couple of these St. Kildian 



NOOSE USED BY FOWLERS IN ST. KILDA. 



snares I am indebted to Mr. J. Steele Elhott, who visited 

 St. Kilda in 1894.t They are about fifteen inches long, 

 including the noose, and appear to be made of horsehair 

 and Gannets' quills deftly plaited together.+ 



Fewer Gannets and other birds taken than formerly.— 



* "Voyage to St. Kilda," p. 106. 

 t iSee "Zoologist," 1895, p. 281. 



t In Norman's " St. Kilda," there is an excellent photograph of a 

 Gannet being canght in this way. 



