PROCELLARIIDM. 9 



The first thing an Albatross does on board is to discharge the contents of its 

 stomach. Some say this is a mode of defence ; others that he becomes ship-sick. The 

 bird, however, does the same thing when closely pursued by an enemy, — as, for instance, 

 the small but formidable Skua Gull, — a "take this and let me go" sort of policy. Possibly, 

 then, it tries the same tactics when in the power of its still more formidable enemy, man. 

 It next ejects a quantity of oil, of which these birds possess an enormous amount. As 

 they never leave the ocean except for breeding purposes, they must occasionally have to 

 rest in a dangerous sea. Is it possible, then, that they possess the power of ejecting 

 this oil in order to be able to "calm the troubled waters," and therefore, as a last 

 resource in this their new danger, try the same manoeuvre that has so often helped 

 them before ? 



In order to kill an Albatross an extra strong dose of prussic acid should be poured 

 down its throat, and, having tied up its mouth, you may prepare for skinning. Everyone 

 knows the final uses the specimen may then be put to. Its webbed feet make capital 

 tobacco-pouches by drawing out all the bone and leaving on the claws as ornaments. 

 The skin of the feet should be well stuffed with tow, and then pinned out on a board to 

 dry. The wing-bones make excellent pipe-stems ; the breast, if carefully cured, a warm 

 though somewhat conspicuous muff; and the beak, in the hands of a skilled artificer, 

 a handsome paper-clip. 



In skinning an Albatross, — always a long and tedious job, — too much time cannot 

 be spent in scraping the layers of fat off the skin, and then thoroughly curing with 

 arsenical soap. This being satisfactorily accomplished, at every available opportunity bring 

 the skin up on deck, and leave it in the wind and out of the sun. If these directions are 

 not fully carried out a most disagreeable smell will always remain, and the grease will 

 eventually show through the feathers and spoil the specimen. 



Whether an Albatross will attack a person in the water — as, for instance, in the 

 case of anyone falling overboard — is a subject of controversy. The fact is an Albatross 

 swoops down at anything and everything in the sea, from a human being to an old beer- 

 barrel, in all probability out of curiosity, and so indeed do most other sea-birds. Anyone 

 bathing from a ship's boat in "blue water" will find that every bird in his immediate 

 vicinity, both great and small, wiU, as it were, "go for him"; but though they come 

 uncomfortably near, it is doubtful if any real harm ever ensues. At the same time, the 

 beak of an Albatross is not to be trifled with, and I should not recommend a personal 

 test as a means of solving the question. But it is quite certain that if the bird's 

 object is food it always settles on the water first. This subject is well dealt with by 



