BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 29 



bored with holes that looked like the work of Woodpeckers or Tits, 

 but we saw no species of either. 



June 24th. — Although work was only finished at 1.30 a.m. we were 

 up at seven, as we had arranged for the Finn to take us to some lakes. 

 Egg-blowing, skinning, photographs, diaries, cooking, &c., leave very 

 few idle hours in the north. It is only " the unacquainted " who 

 express surprise when a small party fail to bring back also a full 

 collection of the plants, insects, and rocks, with other trifles ! On our 

 arrival at the house we found the whole family in their best things, 

 and I have reproduced the group (Plate 9). As it turned out the 

 man was of some interest to English ornithologists. Conversation was 

 carried on under great difficulties, as everything had to be translated 

 twice, and our pilot the interpreter was a duffer ! However, we 

 gradually learnt that the Finn had been bird-nesting with an English- 

 man before, more than forty years ago. In this country ? No, he 

 had only lived here about twenty-five years. Before that his home 

 was near the top of the Gulf of Bothnia. The Englishman came there 

 several years, and this man worked for him eighteen months, driving 

 his sledge, collecting eggs, &c. He went on to tell how the English- 

 man once paid twelve roubles for six little eggs. " Far too much." 

 I suspected these were among the first eggs of the Waxwing Ami^dis 

 gamdus known in England — for without doubt the Englishman was 

 John Wolley, although the man could not recollect his name ; but it 

 was impossible to get any clear description of the bird through that 

 pilot. However, the matter was set at rest when the man came on 

 board, for he recognised a coloured copy of Mr. Dresser's plate of this 

 species as the parent of these dearly purchased eggs. How differently 

 we value things. These eggs were perhaps among those sold at 

 Stevens' Auction Rooms on April 2nd, 1859, ^^^ ^3 each. A most 

 interesting account of Wolley's discovery of the breeding of the 

 Waxwing will be found in the Ibis for 1861, pp. 92—106, by Pro- 

 fessor Alfred Newton. With a good interpreter we should doubtless 

 have extracted many other interesting details from Johan Regina 



