where they rolled about with the eggs which were 

 now being dashed from side to side. On working 

 our craft into a sheltered bay and landing our 

 terror-stricken passengers we were forced to work 

 hard to repair the damages we had received, and 

 by the time our defects were mada good, the storm 

 had abated sufficiently for us to make a second 

 attempt. 



The girls who had crouched at the bottom of 

 the boat presented a most ludicrous appearance, 

 being drenched to the skin with a mixture that 

 resembled egg-flip, the whole of their spoil consis- 

 ting of several hundred gulls' eggs having been 

 smashed and beaten up into a kind of custard with 

 the water that had broken on board. Some meat 

 and drink, and the attentions of two or three sturdy 

 keepers, eventually put fresh life into the discon- 

 solate maidens ; but when they took their leave in 

 the gloaming, it was hard to recognise in the three 

 bedraggled tramps the bright-looking lassies that 

 had met us in the morning. 



There is no doubt but that this species is very 

 destructive to game and their eggs. I have during 

 spring often trapped them on the moors in Perth- 

 shire, using as a bait either eggs or flesh. In 

 Ross-shire, Sutherland, and Caithness, where their 

 numbers are far greater, the loss that they cause 

 to the game-preservers must be very considerable. 

 At the time of the bringing out of the Sea 

 Bird Act it was stated that gulls were of great 

 assistance to the fishermen by showing them the 

 position of the fish and so guiding them to the best 

 spots for shooting their nets. This all looks very 

 pretty and interesting in print, but I have yet to 

 learn that the Sea-gull is a favourite with the 

 fishermen. 



When the shoals of mackerel arrive off the 

 south coast in the spring of the year scores of boats 

 are engaged in watching for the fish to come to the 

 surface ; they then row rapidly to the spot and 



