492 THE PHILOSOPHY 



the rocks adjacent to St. Kilda, the moft remote of the He- 

 brides ; the Skelig iiles, off the coaft of Kerry ; and the Bafs 

 ifle in the Frith of Fourth. The multitudes which frequent 

 thefe places are prodigious. To give an idea of their num- 

 bers, the reader will not be difpleafed to fee Dr. Harvey's 

 fhort account of the Bafs. * There is a fmall iiland in the 



* Frith of Fourth, called the Bafs Ifia?id, which does not ex- 

 « ceed one mile in circumference. The furface of this iiland, 

 ' during the months of May and June, is fo entirely covered 

 « with nefts, eggs, and young birds, that it is fcarcely polTible 



< to walk without treading on them. The flocks of birds 

 « Oil the wing are {o prodigions, that they darken the air 

 « like clouds, and their noife is fo great, that a man cannot 



* without difficulty hear his neighbour's voice. If, from the 

 « top of the precipice, you look down upon the fea, you will 



< fee it on every fide covered with infinite numbers of birds 

 « of different kinds, fwimming about and hunting for their 



* prey. When failing round the ifland, if you furvey the 



< banging cliff^s, you will perceive, in every cragg, or fifliire 



< of the rocks, innumerable birds of various kinds, more than 



< the ftars of heaven in a ferene night. If you view the dif- 

 « tant flocks, either flying to or from the ifland, you will 

 « imagine them to be a vafl: fmarm of bees*.' The rocks of 

 St. Kilda fcem to be equally frequented by folan gecfe j for 

 Martin, in his defcription of the Hebrides, informs us, that 

 the inhabitants of this fmall ifland confume annually no lefs 

 thari 22,600 young birds of this fpecies, bcfide an amazing 

 number of their eggs. The folan gQQ^Q and their eggs con- 

 ftitute the chief food of thefe iflanders. They preferve both 

 the fowls and the eggs in fmall pyramidal fl:one buildings, 

 which, to prote6l the food from moifture, they cover with 

 the aflies of turf. The folan geefe are birds of paflage. 

 Their firft appearance is in March, and they continue till 



* Hcrvey de Generat. Animal. Exercit. 1 1. 



