VI 



the day time, but coirie and go when it is dark, becau8e they live 

 in constant dread of the ^ulls and other enemies whilst it is light. 

 If one is caught by the daylight it retires to its hole and does not stir 

 till nightfall. The petrels depart about November 1, and are seen only 

 occasionally till November 20, when they come back in countless thou- 

 hands to lay their eggs — one for each pair. The earliest period for 

 the egg that he has heard of is November 18. Big Dog and Little 

 Green islands are early islands for them. The egg is white and rather 

 larger than a duck's egg. If the egg is taken the bird does not lay 

 again. If some young birds are taken the old birds still return ati 

 night till the first flight for the southern latitudes commence?. The 

 eggs, if left in the hole more than three days, are not good for eating, 

 but if secured at once they may be kept for some weeks. If the old 

 birds, on coming back, discover that their young have been taken, 

 they disgorge the oil meant for their offspring. During the period of 

 incubation the parents take it in turns, sitting for a week and then 

 exchanging. The youag bird appears about June 15 — that is, two 

 months after the egg has been laid. These petrels do not live on fish 

 as a rule, but on small sea creatures such as shrimps or the berries 

 of kelp, also, doubtless, on very young fish. The baby petrel is in 

 danger for a fortnight or so from snakes, and a certain number are 

 destroyed. The holes are about 2ft. or 3ft. deep. It was asserted 

 to him by both white and half-castes that when the feathers of the 

 young birds are well grown (about the last days of April) and they are 

 able to fly, their parents wholly desert them, leaving them to find the 

 water and food themselves. When the young birds have been left for 

 a week starvation forces them out of their holes. It is also attested by 

 all that as soon as the young bird emerges from its hole, driven 

 forth by hunger, it commences to swallow gravel, and it is unanimously 

 asserted that until the young petrel has ballasted itself with gravel it 

 can neither swim upright nor fly. A great many young birds fall 

 victims to their enemies, yet the sea is black with them in May, and it 

 is computed that out of 300,000 young petrels in a rookery, fully 

 100,000 escape in safety to join their parents somewhere near the South 

 Pole. The birds visit our shores only to rear their offspring. 



The second part of Dr. Montgomery's paper had reference to 

 mutton-birding, a unique industry, and only carried on in the Furneaux 

 Islands as a regular one. It is likely co assume still larger proportions. 

 The " birding " begins on March 20. Before that date the temporary 

 huts of the workers have been repaired, and wood and water stored. 

 An average family attempts to catch and salt about 450 birds a day. 

 On wet days it is impossible to work, and even in fine weather the 

 destruction of clothing is great. A new hand finds himself almost 

 garmentless after a few days of work, which consists of crawling about 

 among rough bushes and lying extended upon the ground, burrowing 

 with the arm into deep holes. Whether this industry will ever be 

 popular on islands where there are snakes is doubtful. Babel Island, 

 where the birds are most numerous, is virtually unvisited at present, 

 and swarms with snakes. The regulations of the Government, the 

 Bishop considers, are adequate for the protection of these birds. 

 Families on Chappell Island exult in the capture of not more than about 

 200,000 young birds out of a possible 300,000, leaving a very fair margin. 

 As a good many islands on the Australian shore hare no water and 

 no boat harbours, and swarm with birds, there is no prospect of 

 their destruction. As regards the salted birds, it may be as well to 

 point out to possible consumers that they are all young, that they have 

 fed on nothing but oil, and have never left their holes except to die. 

 The process called "fatting" ought to be discouraged. It is only 

 resorted to by a few families, and the general sense of the island 

 community is against them. The "fatter" catches his bird, empties 



