IRISH BREEDING-STATIONS OF THE GANNET. 477 



men took him up, and presently dressed and eat him, which they 

 reckoned as a good omen of success on the voyage." 



Whether this account of Martin's can be credited or not, it 

 may be evidence to show that the Gannets at St. Kilda desire to 

 have grass in their nests, and do not rely altogether on seaweed. 



The natives of St. Kilda told me they frequently got bits of 

 candle in the nest of the Gannet ! When at the Bull I saw the 

 semi-digested remains of what I believe was once a squid, close 

 to a Gannet's nest. It was just disgorged, and, with the cuttle- 

 fish bone inside, bore a strong resemblance to a candle covered 

 with slime ! 



In the ' Proceedings of the Belfast Natural History Society,' 

 1B73-4, there is a paper on the swimming-birds of Belfast 

 Lough. At page 110, on the authority of Mr. M'Donald, com- 

 mander of H.M. cruiser 'Vigilant,' the following estimate is 

 given of the Gannets breeding at the five Scotch stations : — 

 Ailsa Craig, 12,000 ; Bass Kock, 12,000 ; St. Kilda, 50,000 ; the 

 Stack, 50,000; Sula S'Geir (or Sulisker), 300,000. It is not 

 easy to take a census of birds with the eye, but I should 

 think 20,000 Gannets at St. Kilda would be more accurate. 

 They have three breeding-places there : Stack-a-Lii, Stack-a- 

 Narmin, and the island of Borrera ; and all are inhabited, like 

 every other British breeding-station. Sulisker is thirty-three 

 miles north of the Butt of Lewis, and must be well worth a visit. 

 The Stack is twenty-three miles N.E. of Cape Wrath, in Suther- 

 landshire. Next year, if possible, it is my intention to see both 

 these stations. 



In 1880 I was on both the Great and Little Skellig, and the 

 number of Gannets then breeding on the latter seemed very few — 

 scarcely thirty pairs — I thought ; so that the Bull is now the 

 greatest Irish breeding-place. It is possible I may not have 

 seen all the Gannets on the Little Skellig in 1880, for although 

 I have climbed the Matterhorn, Jungfrau, and many other peaks, 

 I was baffled by a chasm on this rock, and failed to see the 

 Gannets at close quarters. My guide crossed it, but would 

 probably have fallen as he returned, had I not remained behind 

 to pull him up. We had not time to choose an easier way. 



This year we started for the Skelligs, after visiting the Bull, 

 but bad weather compelled us to return when scarcely half way. 

 The boatman who attends the lighthouse was with us, and said 



