NESTS AND EGGS. 393 
enough for them to stand on. They may be seen loaded with their 
booty crawling on hands and knees, and treading on the narrowest 
ledges, and on the least possible projecting points. The strength 
of the man who holds the cord is such, that if the bird-nester 
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SEA-BIRD CATCHING. 
makes a false step, and falls into the air, he is able to bear the 
shock and save his companion. In the Hebrides, it is calculated 
that more than 20,0co gannets are killed annually, and in Green- 
land, 200,000 eggs of aquatic birds are consumed in the year. 
Audvbon has scen collectors of eggs from Havannah, in the 
Ile aux Oiseaux, Gulf of Mexico, carry off a cargo of about eight 
