MEDITERRANEAN NOTES 183 



" June i st. Dull, gloomy day, strong south-west wind 

 outside the island, which, however, we hardly felt in our 

 sheltered nook here. I spent the greater part of the 

 morning and a good deal of the afternoon in blowing 

 herring gulls' eggs from Vacca, a very nasty job, as they 

 were almost all either just ready to hatch or rotten. The 

 Consul's interpreter tells me that he is the happy owner 

 of the Isla del Ayre, some five miles from the entrance 

 to the harbour, and that on said isla are many rabbits 

 and a quantity of perfectly black lizards ; this we must 

 investigate when the wind permits. Took the cutter in 

 the afternoon, and rowed about the north side of the 

 harbour into several little snug bays, where we found 

 natives fishing with nets and lines, catching large round- 

 banded fishes with the former and * lisa ' with the latter." 



ISLA DEL AYRE 



' f June 2nd. Fine, bright, warm day. The Consul's 

 interpreter gave us leave to go to his island, the Isla 

 del Ayre, to the south-west, and shoot some rabbits. 

 We had to row all the way to the island, some eight or 

 ten miles, as there was no wind. Too much swell on 

 the cliffs of Minorca to attempt shooting pigeons, of 

 which we saw several. The Isla del Ayre is a jumble 

 of rock overgrown in some places with samphire and 

 thistles. Found the three lighthouse men, an Alavese, 

 an Ivigan, and a Mallorquin, very civil and intelligent. 

 M shot some rabbits. 



