SOME EARLY BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS. 181 



his Bill as he spouts out the Oyl ; they surprize him also 

 from behind by taking hold of his Bill, which they tie 

 with a thread, and upon their return home they untie 

 it with a Dish under to receive the Oil . . . ." (p. 56, 

 op. cit.). 



Among his observations on the nesting habits of the 

 sea birds the following passage may be quoted : — 



" Every Fowl lays an Egg three different times 

 (except the Gair-fowl and Fulmar, which lay but one) ; 

 if the First or Second Egg be taken away, every Fowl 

 lays but one other Egg that Year, except the Sea-Malls, 

 and they ordinarily lay the Third Egg, whether the First 

 and second Eggs be taken away or no " (p. 64, op. cit.). 



The supply of sea-fowl was of course a most important 

 factor in the life of the island, and Martin computed the 

 consumption of Gannets alone as follows : — 



" We made particular Enquiry after the number of 

 Solan Geese consumed by each Family the Year before 

 we came there, and it amounted to Twenty two thousand 

 five hundred in the whole Island, which they said was 

 less than they ordinarily did, a great many being lost by 

 the badness of the season, and the great Current into 

 which they must be thrown when they take them, the 

 Rock being of such an extraordinary Height, that they 

 cannot reach the boat " (p. 115, op. cit.). 



Only the briefest notice can here be made of the 

 manners and customs of the inhabitants of St. Kilda, 

 " of their dexterity in climbing," in which " custom had 

 perfected them, so that it is become familiar to them 

 almost from their cradles ; the young boys of three years 

 old begin to climb the walls of their Houses " — " of the 

 beauty of their voices and the soundness of their lungs," 

 to which " the Solan Goose Egg supp'd Raw doth not a 

 little contribute." How they possessed but one steel and 

 tinder-box among a population of one hundred and 

 eighty souls ; and how their native ignorance alone pre- 

 vented them from being the most fortunate of mankind. 



"There is this only wanting to make them the Happiest 



