BITS BY POND, RIVER, AND SEASHORE. 173 



have succeeded in making studies of seals on rocks 

 and even in the very act of precipitating themselves 

 into the sea; but although my brother and I have 

 tried hard on several occasions we have never had any 

 luck. We have, however, by waiting and watching 

 sometimes for five hours at a stretch, discovered a 

 fact which it is useful to know namely, that it is 

 next to useless to lie up and wait for the animals 

 to return to a basking rock from which they have 

 been scared. 



Four species of seals are met with in British 

 waters, and their calves are easily captured on such 

 rocks as the Hiaskers in the Hebrides, and the Out 

 Skerries in the Shetlands. It is said that the 

 animals are partial to the strains of the bagpipes. 

 They are very curious, and when a quiet piece of 

 water which they haunt is visited they keep on 

 popping up and staring with their great dark 

 mild eyes. A gunner in the Shetlands told us 

 that he never thought of shooting at a seal unless 

 the back of the animal's head were towards him, 

 and its eyes consequently averted, because if he 

 did it would be sure to see the flash of his rifle, 

 and go down long before the bullet reached it. 



A man armed with a telephoto lens would be 

 able to make pictures of seals basking on rocks. 



Apart from its birds and beasts the seashore 

 teems with all sorts of subjects full of interest to 

 the student of Nature, and well worthy the attention 

 of the camera man from a picture point of view. 



