BIRDS AND LIGHTHOUSES 275 



Until the British Association appointed a 

 Committee to take the matter in hand, the great 

 difficulty in collecting reliable statistics on migra- 

 tion arose from the want of stationary observers at 

 fixed points. The lighthouse men, from the 

 nature of their occupation, were on the look-out 

 night and day, and it was suggested that with 

 a little training they might be made extremely 

 useful. It was an excellent idea to enlist their 

 services, and it was fortunate that the Com- 

 mittee appointed by the British Association to deal 

 with the matter experienced no difficulty in secur- 

 ing the co-operation of the Master and Brethren of 

 the Trinity House, the Commissioners of Northern 

 Lights, and the Commissioners of Irish Lights. 

 The result was that nearly two hundred stations of 

 observation were established around the coasts 

 of Great Britain, at which the men in charge were 

 constantly on the look-out for migratory birds, 

 making daily observations, and filling up printed 

 forms supplied to them, on which they noted the 

 time of day or night at which the birds were seen, 

 the direction in which they were flying, the direc- 

 tion of the wind and the temperature, identifying 

 the species of bird if possible by obtaining 

 specimens, or describing their appearance as 

 accurately as they could. The men as a rule 

 thoroughly entered into the spirit of the thing, and 

 it furnished a pleasant occupation. The printed 

 forms with which they were supplied were filled up 

 and transmitted at the end of the year to the 

 different members of the British Association 



