SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



261 



ingly fine texture and degree of softness, it was 

 necessary for this to be prepared in the way described 

 by Professor Rntley in his " Study of the Rocks." 

 Having ground a chip down to a smooth surface on 

 one side, I mounted it on a cover slip, and that again 

 on a piece of rubbing-glass. When it was 

 suificiently thin I cleaned it, warmed the glass, 

 and took off the thin slip, with the rock section on 



the top, which I mounted in the usual way. It 

 was a good thing I did it this way, as it would 

 never have been capable of removal by itself, 

 some of the specimen crumbling and disappear- 

 ing altogether during washing. Beyond a few- 

 bubbles, however, the slide is a fair one and very 

 interesting. 



42, Crompton Street, Derby. 



ORCADIAN RAMBLES. 



By Robert Godfrey. 



(Continued front Page 226.) 



Ill — Stromxess to the Black Craig. 



XT EXT morning. May 27th. I purposed examin- 

 ing the wild-life along shore, and passed 

 beyond the numerous fishing stations, where 

 immense flocks of gulls were congregated, towards 

 the Ness or south-western corner of the mainland. 

 From this spot the scene displayed is magnificent, 

 and our own low-lying shore is so utterly insigni- 

 ficant that it only emphasises the distant view. 

 Across the narrow sound rise the deeply-scarred 

 mountains of Hoy, with a sheer rocky bight at 

 their northernmost point, but at the region 

 opposite the Ness with level pastures, on which 

 we can discern a man ploughing and cattle grazing, 

 adjoining the sea. Between the mainland and 

 Hoy is the highway of the ocean, and a line of 

 herring boats amidst an impressive silence is 

 riding out to sea. Continuously the surging waves 

 break heavily in white foam upen the low rocks, 

 making not uproar but music, and the cool, refresh- 

 ing breeze fans us gently with its breath. Every- 

 thing betokens activity, and yet the real centres of 

 activity are not here but elsewhere Gulls pass us 

 by unheeding, and strings of guillemots with head- 

 long flight hurry through the sound, whilst shags 

 pass singly along the tide-edge. It is pleasant 

 amidst such a general commotion to have one 

 fellow-loiterer beside us, especially when that 

 loiterer is the minstrel lark. At times a bunting 

 utters his curious song, or a wheatear mounts in 

 the air to deliver his. but these, by contrast, only 

 heighten the effect of the minstrelsy overhead. 



Wandering on by the low rocky foreshore, we 

 rouse a starling, but pay little heel to 

 obvpitous species, and we soon find ourselves 

 amidst piles of seaweed deposited to dry on the 

 top of the rough stony bank This is thl 

 indication of kelp-making in progress, and at 



tls thereafter we pass small kill 

 lined with stones and about two feet deep in wrbil li 

 the burning takes plar.e Whilst meditating on 

 this industry, now in its period of d< 

 startled by the sharp, shrill whistle of .1 whlmbrel, 

 »e» from a seaweed 1 rtlon o[ the 



shore, and, following it in its flight, our eyes rest 

 on a large bird diving near the tide edge. Moving 

 warily along in its direction, we observe a 

 beautiful shelduck, with his gaudy display of black 

 and white, pass seawards. Meanwhile, we rest on 

 the grassy slope beneath the seawall, and turn our 

 attention, favoured by the brilliant sun, to the 

 stranger that is feeding in the very region where 

 the waves are breaking worst, diving at the edges 

 of the projecting rocks in search of crabs and such 

 like. We recognize the bird as an eiderdrake in its 

 hideous immature plumage, and, before we cease 

 watching him, note a pair of adult eiders pass 

 northwards. Our retreat is invaded by carts 

 coming for seaweed, and as we continue our 

 journey, we cause the immature eider to swim 

 outwards, though he still displays little alarm. 



Along the foreshore here the laminated structure 

 of the rocks render their adaptation for economical 

 purposes a comparatively easy matter, and huge 

 flagstones are lying against the wall ready for 

 transport. In Stromness these flagstones have in 

 many cases been used instead of slates to cover the 

 roofs of the houses, a method of roofing in vogue in 

 Kirkwall and Scalloway as well. A croft inland 

 from this part of the shore is bounded by flagstones 

 set on end, and looks in the distance as if it were 

 hemmed in by tombstones. 



Ahead of us now the rising smoke tells of our 

 approach to the kelp-burners, but ere we reach 

 their haunt we have some distance to cover, and 

 intently study the shore for further additions to its 

 life. A single oyster-catcher is feeding in silence — 

 strangely enough, on the low rocks — and rock pipits 

 are delivering their simple songs in the air a they 

 rise from the bank and descend to the seaweed 

 again. We find a dead kitliwakc on the shore, and 

 .-»<■ attracted to a hooded crow by its harsh cry, a 

 bird which one would expect to find much more 

 numerou . in Orkney than il really is. 



nd a churchyard we enter the region occu- 

 pied by the kelp-bouses, a large stretdi ol 

 grassy ground covered with '.mall heaps ol dried 



