DECEMBER 1902. 



THE broken stones and other debris, consequent upon the 

 late alterations here, which had collected in various holes 

 in the Rock and maintained their position up till now, have 

 nearly all been cleared out by the severe gales of this month, 

 and a couple of heavy iron poles, erected lately to mark the 

 boat tracks or entrances to the landings, and which were sunk 

 two feet in the solid rock and heavily cemented, have been 

 shaken loose in their sockets by the pounding seas which have 

 been besieging us of late. The rocks appear bleak and bare, 

 and utterly void of vegetation. The white whelks have 

 collected their scattered forces, and gone into winter quarters. 

 Secure in sheltering nooks, they lie huddled together in close 

 packed squadrons. Numerous small white banded whelks 

 adhere to the base of the tower with a tenacity that seems 

 surprising considering the swirling seas they are subjected to. 

 This species, however, never seem to dream of hibernating. 

 The eiders and longtails, with an unswerving attention to 

 business, pursue their calling amid the hurly-burly of broken, 

 tumbling seas evidently little concerned whether the weather 

 be fair or foul and in the glassy hollows alternating between 

 the breakers they can be distinctly seen scurrying over the 

 rock surface like so many fish. Gannets this month are con- 

 spicuous by their absence, and only a few parasitic gulls 

 divide their attention between the kitchen refuse and the hard 

 won earnings of the eiders. 



On several occasions during the month our fog signal was 

 brought into action through the occurrence of heavy snow- 

 falls. A silent, feathery fall on shore no doubt has charms 

 peculiarly its own, but at sea constitutes a very serious danger 

 to the anxious mariner as he steams at reduced speed through 



E 



