76 REPORT OF BRITISH COMMISSIONERS. 



fiv.) Errf Eool-eries. — Oceupyinj? both sides of tlie outer part of the 

 lou<i; proiuoutory known as Keef Point, and facing" to the north-west 

 and south-east. The nortli-western slope, ofteu called Garbotcli, is 

 rather steep, and a part of the rookery-ground occui)ied on this side 

 consists of a narrow fringe of rocky shore overlooked by low basaltic 

 cliffs. A uarrow ridge, Avhif.h is worn bare and occupied as a hauling 

 ground by holluschickie in the early part of the season, and is fre- 

 quented by all classes of seals at a lat(^r ])eriod, sei)arates the north- 

 western from the south-eastern side of Keef Toiut. On the south-east 

 side there is a wide border of flat land but little elevated above the 

 tide, upon which the greater part of the seals of the rookeries is found. 

 Almost the whole of the rookery ground of the reef is plentifully strewn 

 with angular masses of rock, though occasional smooth spaces also 

 occur. The higher parts of the Reef Point consist very largely of a 

 bed of volcanic scoria?, lying compact and much in its original state, 

 and forming a fine hard surface considerably dift'e'rent from that fouud 

 on most of the rookeries. 



(v.) Lulcannon and Ketavie Hoolceries form practically one rookery; 

 they slope generally eastward, and in parts are much broken by the 

 irregular jutting out of the solid rock and the many angular masses 

 which have detached themselves from it. 



(vi.) Polavina RooJcery. — This faces to the south-eastward and stretches 

 irregularly along the shore for nearly H miles. The rocky shore is 

 here bounded on the landward side by a range of low irregular cliffs, 

 perhaps averaging 40 feet in height, and the breeding seals for the most 

 part occupy the upper part of the beach along the base of the cliffs, 

 together with such breaks and hollows as exist in the cliffs and a wide 

 rocky reef near the sea level at the southern end of the rookery ground. 

 A certain jjroportion of the breeding seals, however, take up stations 

 upon the upper edge of the cliffs, and later in the season they move 

 irregularly back upon the low plateau composed of bare volcanic tufa 

 which rises very gradually toward the distant base of Polavina Hill. 



(vii.) North-East Point Rookery. — This is the most important breeding 

 l^lace upon either of the islands, and nught perhaps be more correctly 

 described as a series of rookeries than as a single one. North- East Point 

 is a low peninsula of quadrangular form, connected at one of its angles 

 by a narrow neck, consisting of sandy flats and high dunes, with the 

 main island. Hutchinson Hill, probably about 150 feet in height and 

 near the northern side of peninsula, is its highest point. The rookery 

 ground runs along the eastern, northern, and north-western shores 

 almost continuously, though in some places — and particularly in the 

 immediate vicinity of Hutchinson Hill — it is much wider than in others. 

 Nearly all this length of shore is strewn thickly with rocky fragments, 

 which as far as the highest tides reach are usually well rounded, but 

 farther back are still angular or sub-angular. Between Hutchinson 

 Hill and the sea, there is a considerable width of rock-strewn flat land 

 resembling that of the south-east side of Keef Point, and coinciding 

 with the most imi)ortant portion of the rookery. 



257. On St. George's Island there are now five recognized rookery 

 grounds, four on the northern coast and one in Zajiadnie Bay on the 

 southern coast: 



(i.) Zapadnie RooJcery. — This breeding ground is more or less perfectly 

 divided into two parts, one lot of seals occupying a rough bouldery flat 

 immediately back of the beach, another the slope of a hill a little fur- 

 ther to the south. 



