238 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



away. Birds ceased singing, and left the trees that shaded the sides 

 of the mountain. A great fear seemed to be upon the island, and 

 though it was shared by human inhabitants, they alone neglected to 

 protect themselves." 



We have received the Report of the "Breydon Wild Birds Pro- 

 tection Society " for the seasons 1898-1901. This Society is doing a 

 work that should receive the support of all British ornithologists. It 

 particularly concerns itself with the protection of Spoonbills, which 

 again show a tendency to make a permanent residence at Yarmouth. 

 That this protection is much needed the present writer can testify. Last 

 Eastertime he was shown a specimen, purchased from a London pur- 

 veyor, and said to have come from Caithness. This locality he at once 

 denied, and further enquiries elicited the new locality " Suffolk." It 

 was doubtless a Breydon bird ! It need scarcely be said that the 

 Society requires funds, and to those willing and able to assist, we may 

 give the address where subscriptions will be heartily welcomed : — 

 Henry P. Frederick, Hon. Sec, 3, South Quay, Great Yarmouth. 



We extract the following from the ' Veld,' an excellently illustrated 

 monthly, published at Cape Town : — ■" Forty years ago whaling was a 

 prosperous industry at the Cape of Good Hope, and several whaling 

 stations, with their boats and crews, were situated all round the penin- 

 sula. At Sea Point the fishery was known as Grainger's, and when a 

 certain flag was hoisted on the Lion's Rump it was known that a Whale 

 was in the Bay, and that Grainger was after it. The only survivor of 

 these stations is that at Muizenburg, and the Aurets are now the only 

 regular whalers in these regions ; although, should a ' fish' put in an 

 appearance in any of our waters, our fishermen are prepared, at very 

 short notice, to give him a hot time. Year by year the Aurets 

 manage to harpoon an odd Right Whale which has wandered north 

 from his Antarctic fastnesses, and last year, on Sept. 27th, they made 

 a fine capture. After a hard chase and a hot fight in the Bay the 

 leviathan was landed on the Muizenburg beach, about a mile from the 

 station, and the next morning the process of cutting up began at an 

 early hour. A great number of people came from Cape Town to see 

 the sight, and the Muizenburg beach was quite lively with comers and 

 goers. The Whale-beef — coarse loose flesh — was eagerly carried off 

 by coloured people, who evidently esteem it a dainty. The blubber, 

 which lies immediately under the skin to the depth of ten or twelve 

 inches, was next taken off in long strips, and carried to huge tubs 



