Mr. E. Lovett oti the Stoitn Petrel ilscd as Caudles. 331 



two days and a half. This spring I was greatly delighted to see 

 a pair of the same birds (probably the young of 1888 or 1889) 

 again building in the same old place ; and I took every precaution 

 to protect the birds from the cat, but unfortunately without 

 success, and the nest was again deserted. 



Upon examining the now tenantless nest I was surprised to 

 find that instead of one hollow in the centre, as formerly had 

 been the case, there were two depressions or nest cavities near 

 the sides of the nest. In one of these were four eggs, and in 

 the other two. I had examined the nest ten days previously, 

 and there were then neither eggs nor depressions therein. Upon 

 careful examination I noticed that the four eggs in one cavity 

 were evidently one clutch or set, whilst the two in the other 

 cavity were different in shade and size of the specks of colour, 

 and evidently not laid by the same hen. It frequently happens 

 that if one bird loses a mate, it takes to itself another, and this 

 has been known to occur repeatedly, one cock taking hen after 

 hen to supply the place made vacant by his successive mates 

 being shot. In the present instance, however, I do not see how 

 this could have been the case, as all the six eggs were certainly 

 laid in ten days, and there is no reason why they should not 

 have all been placed in one nest cavity, except there were two 

 pairs of birds nesting in one spot, which I believe to be the real 

 fact of the case. The cat probably killed one bird of each pair, 

 though I only saw one dead bird ; or the attack of the cat so 

 alarmed the other birds that they deserted the nest. 



This remarkable double nest is on the table for inspection, 

 and I hope, and fully believe, that in spite of past failures and 

 trouble, the old Eoman mill will next spring be again tenanted 

 by a pair of Parus major. 



08. — The Storm Petrel, Procellaria pelagica, used in the 

 Orkneys, Shetlands, and St. Kxlda as Candles. 



By Edward Lovett. 



(Read September 9th, 1891.) 



In collecting material and data bearing upon the subject of 

 primitive fire-making and light-giving or holding appliances, I 

 came across some of an exceedingly interesting character con- 

 nected with the various islands north of Scotland. Amongst 

 these was the use of the whelk-shell, Buccinum iindntnm, as a 

 lamp with whale oil ; crude lamps hollowed out of solid stone ; 

 and perhaps the most wonderful candle ever heard of, namely,- 



