AND OTHER BIRDS 155 



its nest a Yellow-eyed Penguin, in order to 

 obtain a photograph of the bird in an upright 

 position as it hopped back to its eggs. No 

 sooner, however, were the contents of the nest 

 exposed, than they were noticed by the ubiqui- 

 tous Weka, and a sort of triangular engagement 

 took place between the three of us. I myself 

 at the lens stood about twelve paces away from 

 the nest; at an equal distance from me and the 

 lens, but only a few feet from the nest, stood 



unceasing manner in which the tail is depressed and raised, and 

 this alternative drop and elevation has always appeared to me 

 like a toy-shop contrivance, and as if it must be caused by 

 mechanism concealed in the creature's body. 



Perhaps this observation and the reflections consequent thereon 

 may have been the earliest of the several thought-factors in my 

 invention. A second was the knowledge of the interior arrange- 

 ments of cameras, and especially knowledge of the contrivances by 

 which their shutters work. The third factor was an anatomical 

 acquaintance with the ankle of man Homo sapiens and the 

 perusal of the fact so widely diffused by the illustrated papers 

 that the female of the race was bent on its exhibition. 



If this preamble has led readers to anticipate anything startling 

 I fear disappointment will be felt. 



The Ocydrome skirt is simply a collapsible garment, a 

 wrinkler, the main idea of which has been adapted from the roller- 

 blind principle of certain field cameras. 



The Ocydrome will give leg exposures to any height desired, and 

 up to the thousandth part of a second. It can be set at 'time' 

 also and worked by ordinary pressure of button, or if so desired 

 by bulb or Antinous release concealed in the muff. 



To meet all requirements, these skirts are of two designs, 

 'kneeers' and 'neckers, ' the former limited in its rise; the latter 

 if required can be made completely telescopic and thus set at 'time' 

 in no small degree resembles the ordinary umbrella of commerce 

 blown inside out. 



The 'necker, ' however, should never be used in crowded 

 thoroughfares. Up to the present time I have found it impossible 

 quite to silence the burr of the 'rise' mechanism, and that and the 

 strange eclipse of the human head scares country horses. The 

 'necker' makes them restive; they can't stand it. 



As far as I can recall my mental condition at the exact moment 

 of invention, it was not one of pure personal pride, but rather 

 delight and amazement that New Zealand should again be leading 

 the way. 'Civis Romanus sum' was the predominant feeling, and 

 the recollection that this far distant strip of land had contributed 

 to the Boer war a larger proportion of men than any of the other 

 territories that make up the Empire, that ours was the first great 



