THE CONSERVATION OF BIRDS. 265 



egg-collecting, and probably the most important one in the 

 United States, from a financial stand-point, is that of the Faral- 

 lones. These islands, or rather rocks, situated on the coast of 

 California, thirty miles west of the Golden Gate, are the breed- 

 ing-grounds of myriads of sea-birds, chiefly western gulls 

 (Larus ocddentalis) and murres, or California guillemots ( Una 

 troile Calif ornica). For nearly fifty years murre eggs were 

 collected here and shipped to San Francisco market, where 

 they found a ready sale at from twelve to twenty cents a 

 dozen, a price only a little less than that of hens 1 eggs. During 

 the season, which lasted about two months, beginning near 

 the middle of May, the eggs were shipped regularly once or 

 twice a week. The main crop was gathered on South Faral- 

 lone, the principal island, and mainly from the ' great 

 rookery 1 at the west end. The birds lay only one egg, 

 which is deposited on the bare rock. When the season 

 opened the men went over the ground and broke all the eggs 

 in sight, so as to avoid taking any that were not perfectly 

 fresh. The ground was then gone over every day, and the 

 eggs were systematically picked up and shipped to market. 

 The business was in the hands of Italians and Greeks, who 

 were also engaged in fishing, and, although a dozen or fifteen 

 ' eggers 1 were employed on the islands, the number of eggs 

 gathered was simply enormous. It is said that in 1854 more 

 than five hundred thousand eggs were sold in less than two 

 months, and that between 1850 and 1856 three or four mill- 

 ions were taken to San Francisco. . . . Since then the value 

 of the eggs has declined, and the number has fallen off con- 

 siderably. In 1884 there were gathered three hundred thou- 

 sand, in 1896 about one hundred and eight thousand, while 

 in 1896 the crop was reduced to a little less than ninety-two 

 thousand. 11 



As a cause of reduction in the number of sea-birds, egging 

 undoubtedly is entitled to first place. Millinery shooting, 

 though equally destructive in operation, was begun at a date 



