An ‘“Unclimbable” Fir Tree 61 
night, my particular birdsnesting ally and companion during my 
first five years in Spain, Harry James Fergusson, came to my 
quarters and propounded a scheme for taking the nest on the 
following day. I demurred, as [I had not properly watched the 
birds and was in consequence uncertain whether the nest contained 
eggs, and also because my part of the proposed entertainment was 
to climb the tree whereas his was to get the inevitable “rise” 
out of the others by subsequently in the event of my succeeding, 
pretending that we had failed. He was however a wilful man, 
and met all my objections by assurances that he knew I could do 
itsif only I tried. 
So next morning saw us galloping out along the beach to the 
a dead fir about 
“First River” and onward. Arrived at the tree 
75 ft. high—I took careful stock of it and was not at all reassured. 
For 20 ft. it was just possible to swarm the trunk, after which it 
bifurcated and was easy enough, the portion in which the nest was 
placed inclining outwards at an angle of 45 degrees for 10 or 12 ft., 
becoming again vertical for another 10 ft. So far, so good, it was 
awkward, but obviously possible. But now came the trouble, for 
in the course of the next 20 ft. the tree-stem emulated a cork-screw 
in form and described a splayed and twisted “S” before once again 
returning to the vertical below the lowest branch over 60 ft. from 
the ground. The sketch at the commencement of this chapter is 
from one drawn at the time of our visit, and gives a better idea of 
the awkwardness of the situation than does my description. It was 
obviously fairly simple to swarm up the tail of the § but at the 
lower curve of it the trunk bulged ere it took the backward turn. 
The shape of the tree was however by no means the greatest 
obstacle to reaching the nest, for the fir tree, as I saw at a glance, 
was clad with the well-known flaking bark peculiar to its species 
which made it extremely slippery if not dangerous. I have a 
theory of my own that in all big fir trees the higher one ascends, 
