KNOWLEDGE 



[January 2, 1899. 



wood ; in vinegar malsing, and in bleaching textiles and 

 tissues. These facts aiford justification for believing that 

 ozone will soon be one of the most familiar instances of 

 the application of scientific knowledge to everyday processes. 



TWO MONTHS ON THE GUADALQUIVER. 



By HiKRY F. WlTHERBY. 



I.— THE EIVEE. 



TO the ornithologist, the Guadalquiver, at all events 

 from Seville to its mouth near Cadiz, is one of the 

 most interesting rivers in Europe. In times gone 

 by most of the country on each side of the river 

 for about twenty miles from its present mouth 

 was covered by the sea. But the land has been reclaimed, 

 not by the Spaniards, but by the river itself. For countless 

 years the river deposited at its mouth, layer upon layer, the 

 innumerable particles which its waters brought down to 

 the sea, and thus, gradually, the sea-bottom was raised, 

 until at length the sea was ousted and level plains appeared. 

 Then the sea began to fight for the land, but it fought 

 against itself, for it threw up sandbanks round the margin 

 of this newly formed land. The wind blew the sand, and 

 the sandbanks increased in length and breadth until they 

 completely shut out the ocean. Thus, the river, the sea, 

 and the wind combined to form a great flat expanse of 

 many square miles in extent. The plains so formed are 

 known in Spain as the marismas. A small part of them 

 is wooded with pine and cork-oak, or covered with a dense 

 undergrowth of tamarisk, gorse, cistus, and other shrubs, 

 but by far the greater portion consists of mud and marsh. 

 Hooded by the river in winter and burnt up by the sun in 

 summer. The human population of these plains consists 

 only of a few herdsmen — wild picturesque-looking men, 

 armed with long sticks and wearing rough sheepskin coats 

 and long apron-like leather gaiters. These men live 

 during the summer in rude huts built of reeds, and they, 

 with the help of their dogs, watch over great droves of 

 horses, bulls and sheep. 



Fia. 1.— Stalkinj in the Man 



An ornithologist visiting this country recognises at once 

 that it is an ideal place lor many kinds of birds. Food 

 and nesting sites are plentiful and varied, and the country 

 is very liitle disturbed. Moreover, this corner of Europe 

 lies in the track of a vast number of birds of many kinds, 

 migrating from Africa to the north of Europe in spring, and 



from the north to their winter quarters in Africa in the 

 autumn. Many of these migrants are induced, by prospects 

 of food and seclusion, to break their journey for a few days 

 in this congenial wilderness. 



Towards the end of March, 189S, my friend, G. Chenevix 

 Trench, and myself left England to follow in the footsteps 

 of such noted ornithologists as the late Lord Lilford, 



jIR-^. 





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Fig. 2. — The Stalker from the Bird's Point of View. 



Messrs. Abel Chapman, H. E. Dresser, and Howard 

 Saunders, who have all explored this wonderful country. 

 Our principal object was to collect Limicoltr, or wading 

 birds, for a special purpose. We also hoped to get many 

 other birds, and we knew that we should see many sights 

 in the way of bird-life which possibly might have been 

 seen many years ago in England but will never be seen 

 again, owing to the great marshes of the East Coast 

 having been drained and cultivated. 



Once arrived in Spain, delays innumerable and unlocked 

 for occurred, and we soon learnt to know the meaning of 

 that much abused word maiiana, which signifies any day 

 but to-morrow. It was not therefore until April ith that, 

 with all preparations made, we boarded our boat at the 

 little village of C. and sailed ofl' down the river. The 

 boat, or " sheep," as the owner called it, which was our home 

 for six or seven weeks, was a half-decked barge-like lugger, 

 by no means extravagantly fitted, but roomy and well suited 

 for our purpose. The Guadalquiver is noted, amongst 

 other things, for its thick and muddy water, its strong 

 tides, and for the wind which is nearly always blowing on 

 it. Never once did we see more than three or four inches 

 below its surface, never once was the tide favourable, and 

 as to the wind it was either not blowing at all, or, when it 

 was blowing, it was, owing to the winding nature of the 

 river, of little use. As a consequence, instead of four hours 

 we took ten to arrive at our first camping place. But 

 when one is in Spain one must do as the Spaniard does. 

 If one cannot be moving, then, surely, it is much more 

 pleasant to sit still and smoke the delicious chjarillo. What 

 true Spaniard ever loses an opportunity of employing 

 himself in this way ? But there were many things to 

 attract our attention on this slow voyage, and consequently 

 it was not always possible to adopt the Spaniard's methods. 

 We were passing through the wonderful marimnas for the 

 first time in our lives, and although there was very little 

 of the country to be seen from the river our field glasses 

 were constantly in use. Parts of the river bank were 

 thickly grown with reeds from which proceeded the hoarse 



