38 Natural History Buli.e:tin. 



malady is the ease and completeness with which its terrors 

 are lost sight of as soon as relief comes. 



That night there was a general overhauling of tire-arms 

 and other equipment for land work. Guns which had been 

 put away dry and new, covered thickly with oil, were found 

 to be rusted a bright red all over the metal work. (Jur 

 experience proved that eternal vigilance is the price of even 

 a measurably clean gun, and that in spite of the most scru- 

 pulous attention they are bound to rust more or less in the 

 sea air. When a weapon is laid away for several da3'S, it is 

 advisable to plug up both ends of the barrels with a wad of 

 cotton oiled with porpoise or some equally good animal oil. 



The ornithologists overhauled their kits of tools, the bota- 

 nists got out their collecting cans, note books and presses, 

 and the entomologists unpacked their nets and collecting 

 bottles, in eager anticipation of their first tield day in the 

 Bahamas. 



The morning of May 13th dawned clear and beautiful. 

 The scene from the anchorage w^as gratefully quiet and rest- 

 ful after the continuous tossing of the past eight days. The 

 rising sun was flecking the ripples with tire, while the 

 delicious morning breeze gently waved the fronds of the 

 cocoanut palms which lined the adjacent beach. The water 

 around the vessel was clear as only Bahama waters can be, 

 and the crabs could be distinctly seen crawling among the 

 alga; at the bottom, eighteen feet below the surface. 



After an early breakfast, the members of the part}- were 

 assigned work for the dav. One boat-load was dispatched 

 to Little ^gg Island, a rocky reef near the entrance to the 

 harbor, where the numerous sea birds were seen circling 

 around, indicating a promising rookery. Another part\- was 

 detailed to work up the larger Egg Island, where they 

 beached the boat in the little cove right under the cocoanut 

 palms. 



A path led to an empl\- sugar house, in which was a tank 

 of fresh water, rather better than is usuall\- found in the 

 Bahamas. There beinjj; no streams in these islands, the in- 



