THE GANNET. 263 



sive days, a dark cloud was seen rising from its apex, like smoke 

 from a volcano, wliicli the configuration of the island so strongly 

 resembles. 



When in the vicinity in September 1843, I was told that the 

 gentleman who had " the shooting " over the property about Bal- 

 lantrae that season, went to Ailsa and cruelly slaughtered, in one 

 forenoon with two guns, upwards of a hundi'ed gannets, nearly all 

 old birds. He first kiUed one at about a Imndi-ed yards from the 

 island, and let it lie on tlie water to attract others to the spot, 

 which it unfortunately did, until the number mentioned was killed. 

 Bad as the destruction of gannets narrated by Audubon (vol. iv. 

 p. 224) is, this is still worse, the American slayers having an ob- 

 ject in it, though making a very trivial use of the birds. They 

 killed them for the sake of the flesh of the breast, as bait for 

 cod-fish. 



Off the nor,th of Scotland, the gannet is said to breed on the 

 island of Souhskerry, as it is well known to do ofP the east coast, 

 at the Bass Eock, Erith of Forth. Its only breeding-place* on 

 the English coast is Lundy Island, in the Bristol Channel, and 

 but a single locality on the coast of Ireland is thus honoured : 

 this is one of the Skellig islands on the coast of Kerry. Smith, 

 in his history of that county, written a century ago, when 

 describing the " second or middle SkeUig " island, observes — 

 " ^Tis remarkable tlmt the gannet nestles nowhere else on the 

 soutli coast of Ireland, and though multitudes of them are daily 

 seen on all parts of our coast upon the wing, and in the sea, yet 

 they were never known to alight on any other land or rock here- 

 abouts, except on tliis island.''^ It is added, " I have been in- 

 formed that there is another rock on the north coast of Ireland 

 where they alight and breed in the same manner, and nowhere 

 else in the kingdom." I am unable to conjecture what rock is 



* Mr. Macgillivray adds " Ronay " to the preceding Scottisli localities, but simply 

 uamcs tlie island (' Manual IJrit. Birds,' vol. ii. p. 225). Ganucts arc not raculioncd 

 in any description of North, East, or West Rona that I have read, as frequenting 

 any of those islands. M'Culloch, describing Sulisker or Barra and North Rona in 

 the same chapter, mentions these birds at the former island only (' Western Isles,' 

 &c., vol. i. p. 205). 



