192 HILLSIDE, ROCK, AND DALE 



will never see again. If these fellows have hearts, 

 they should look upon the scene they leave behind. 

 Here is a quotation from an article on the protection 

 of birds, which appeared in the Zoologist for June, 

 1901. Mr. Oxley Grabham, the writer, says: "So- 

 called sportsmen used to go out, on the opening 

 day, with the avowed intention of firing away so 

 many cartridges ; they never even troubled to pick 

 up one quarter of what they shot ; and I have 

 witnessed the pitiable sight of a wounded guillemot, 

 with a broken wing, and its wounds exposed to the 

 salt sea-water, trying to clamber up the cliff with 

 a fish in its bill, to its starving young one, many 

 of which perished through the death or maiming 

 of its parents." 



Of course none of this is allowed now during 

 nesting time, but as soon as the close season is over 

 this disgraceful shooting commences, and a tremen- 

 dous amount of damage is done. There are numbers 

 of young birds still on the rocks when the 1st of 

 September arrives, and the parents keeping with 

 them are shot down in hundreds. 



One of the watchers Robert Darling, nephew 

 of Grace Darling once stood on an adjoining rock 

 and remonstrated with the men. Their answer was 

 to turn the large gun on to him and threaten to 

 fire a load if he did not clear off. This was in 

 the nesting season before the islands were protected. 



