292 



of Batumi 



to me was, that even the fishermen there 

 thought that this bird laid only a single egg ; 

 and when I asked them how they knew, 

 they simply and good-naturedly answered 

 that they had heard so." 



(ORIA. ORTI 



We now turn to the first volume of Mr. 

 Watertou's amusing and characteristic 

 Essays, to extract his Notes of a visit to the 

 haunts of the Guillemot. " The immense 

 range of perpendicular rocks, lashed by old 

 ocean's briny surge, offers a choice and fa- 

 vourable retreat to myriads of wild-fowl, 

 from far-famed Flamborough-head to Bemp- 

 ton, and thence to Buckton and Speaton, 

 and outwards to the Bay of Filey. He who 

 wishes to examine the nidification of these 

 birds ought to be at this part of the sea-coast 

 early in the month of May. About five 

 miles from Bridlington Quay is the village 

 of Flamborough, chiefly inhabited by fisher- 

 men ; and a little farther on is a country 

 inn, called the North Star, which has good 

 accommodation for man and horse ; but a 

 lady would feel herself ill at ease in it, on 

 account of the daily visits of the fishermen, 

 those hardy sons of Neptune, who stop at it 

 on their way to the ocean, and again on 

 their return. Here they rendezvous, to for- 

 tify their interior with a pint or two of 

 comfort, and to smoke a pipe, by way of 

 compensation for the many buffets which 

 they ever and anon receive in the exercise 

 of their stormy and nocturnal calling. 

 i " On the bare ledges of these stupendous 

 cliffs the Guillemot lays its egg, which is 

 exposed to the face of heaven, without any 

 nest whatever : but the razor-bills and puf- 

 fins lay theirs in crannies, deep and difficult 

 of access. Here too the peregrine falcon 

 breeds, and here the raven rears its young ; 

 while the rock-pigeon and the starling enter 

 the fissures of the precipice, and proceed with 

 their nidification, far removed from the pry- 

 ing eye of man. The Kittiwake makes her 

 nest of dried grass wherever she can find a 

 lodgment, and lays two spotted eggs, very 

 rarely three. The cormorant and shag in- 

 habit that part of the rocks which is oppo- 

 site to Buckton Hall. You are told that the 

 cormorants had their nests, in former times, 

 near to the Flamborough lighthouse ; but 

 now these birds totally abandon the place 

 during the breeding season. The jackdaw 

 is found throughout the whole of this bold 

 and craggy shore : he associates with the 

 sea-fowl, as though he were quite at home 

 amongst his own inland congeners. To- 

 wards the top of the cliffs, both rabbits and 

 foxes have descended from the table land 

 above them, and managed to find a shelter 



1 



j among the crevices, in places where you 

 I would suppose that no four-footed animal 

 I would ever dare to venture. A low mound, 

 half earth, half stone, thrown up by the 

 farmers for the protection of their flocks, 

 skirts the winding summit of the precipice. 

 Cattle have been known to surmount this 

 artificial boundary, and lose their lives in 

 the roaring surge below. This extensive 

 range of rocks, as far as appertains to birds, 

 is not considered private property. Any 

 person who can climb it may carry away 

 what number of eggs he chooses. Still there 

 is a kind of honourable understanding be- 

 twixt the different sets of climbers, that 'they 

 will not trespass over the boundaries which 

 have been marked by mutual consent. 



" The usual process of seeking for the eggs 

 is generally carried on by three men, though 

 two will suffice in case of necessity. Having 

 provided themselves with two ropes of suf- 

 ficient length and strength, they drive an 

 iron bar into the ground, about six inches 

 deep, on the table land at the top of the 

 precipice. To this bar is fastened the thick- 

 est of the two ropes, and then it is thrown 

 down the rocks. He who is to descend now 

 puts his legs through a pair of hempen braces, 

 which meet round his middle, and there 

 form a waistband. At each end of this waist- 

 band is a loophole, through which they reeve 

 the smaller rope. Sometimes an iron hook 

 and eye are used in lieu of this loop. A 

 man now holds the rope firmly in his hand, 

 and gradually lowers his comrade down the 

 precipice. While he is descending he has 

 hold of the other rope, which was fastened 

 to the iron bar ; and, with this assistance, 

 he passes from ledge to ledge, and from rock 

 to rock, picking up the eggs of the Guille- 

 mot, and putting them into two bags, which 

 he had slung across his shoulder ere he com- 

 menced his arduous undertaking. When 

 he has filled these bags with eggs, he jerks 

 the rope, and the motion informs his friend 

 at the top that it is now tkne to draw him 

 up. On coming up again to the place from 

 whence he first set out, all the eggs are taken 

 from the bags, and put into a large basket, 

 prior to their being packed in hampers, and 

 carried off in a cart by wholesale dealers, 

 who purchase them from the climbers for 

 sixpence the score. At Bridlington and the 

 neighbouring places the eggs are retailed at 

 a halfpenny a-piece. The rocks are searched 



for eggs every third day, provided the wea- 



er be fair. It requir 

 dress on the part of the descending climber 



requires considerable ad- 



to save himself from being hit by fragments 

 of the rock, which are broken off by the rope 

 coming in contact with them. He avoids 

 the danger by moving sidewise when the 

 stone is falling, and by taking care, as he 

 goes down, to clear away with his foot any 

 portion of the rock that seems ready to give 

 way. One of the climbers, while he was 

 imparting to me instructions how to act, 

 grinned purposely, and showed his upper 

 jaw. I learned by his story, that, last year, a 

 falling stone had driven two of his front teeth 

 down his throat ; while the poor climber, 

 with all his dexterity, was unable to feud 

 off the blow. 



