UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 159 



" The mode of preserving the peat in winter, 

 and also the corn and hay, is ingenious, and pe- 

 culiar, I am told, to this island. They are kept 

 in buildings, which from their domed shape ap- 

 peared most extraordinary, till I discovered their 

 purpose. They are the first objects visible on 

 approaching from sea, and I, of course, thought 

 they were the dwellings of the natives. The sides 

 admit a free passage of air, but the roofs are ren- 

 dered water-tight by a covering of turf; the domes 

 are formed by the regular diminution of the courses 

 of masonry, and the whole is closed and secured 

 at top by a few large heavy stones. 



" The bird-catchers of this island have long 

 been celebrated. The puffins are caught in their 

 burrows by the dogs, and the chase is usually 

 managed by the children, while the men are en- 

 gaged in the pursuit of more difficult game. 

 Gannets, or Solan-geese, and other large birds, 

 are taken by hand, or with snares, on their 

 nests ; for which purpose the bird-catchers de- 

 scend the cliffs, by the assistance of a rope, which 

 is sometimes made of hair, or sometimes of slips 

 of twisted cow-hide. 



" A party, who were provided with these ropes, 

 led me to the brink of a precipice, of such a 

 height, that the sea, dashing against the rocks 

 below, was not heard above. Several of the 

 ropes having been tied to one another, to increase 

 their length, the man who was going down fastened 



