THE WOMBAT. 55 



pursuing the fascinating study of ornithology. The lecturer's 

 remarks upon birds' nests were illustrated by photographs 

 jtaken on the spot, often under conditions of extreme difficulty, 

 showing peculiarities of structure hitherto unknown. How- 

 ever much the woodcuts of Bewick or the drawings of Joseph 

 Wolf may be admired, there can be no doubt that the witness 

 of the camera comes first in order of authenticity ; and if in 

 science the first thing we look for is truth, the man who, often 

 at the hazard of his life, secures absolutely true evidence, is he 

 who deserves the chief praise. An account was given of the 

 Messrs. Kearton, ardent photographic ornithologists, who for 

 the last few years have travelled over the British Islands, to 

 find specimens and to photograph them in situ. One particular 

 instance referred to was that of the solan goose, which was 

 obtained at about four o'clock in the morning on Ailsa Craig, 

 and so early in the season that the birds had not settled down 

 seriously to the business of incubation ; this photograph was 

 of especial interest and value on account of the adventures 

 encountered on that beetling crag. In getting down to the 

 edge of the cliff, the photographer placed too much dependence 

 upon the stability of a large slab of rock, which treacherously 

 commenced to slip down the steep hillside at a great pace 

 directly it received his additional weight. 



He narrowly managed to save himself and the camera 

 from being shot over the tip of the precipice, and sustaining 

 a fall of several hundred feet into the sea below. Five photo- 

 graphs were taken of a gannet sitting on her nest, each at 

 closer range, and although she was ill at ease while all this 

 was going on, by working deftly he was able to establish 

 himself somewhat in her confidence, and got close enough to 



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