47 
plenty of the waters, and subsist by pillaging the 
gulls and gannets. Lhe migratory visitors are ducks, 
herons, plovers, snipes, sand-pipers, curlews, and 
ibises, with the several falcons that follow them. 
In the autumnal movement of these birds towards 
the equatorial regions, they would be found steering 
from north to south, but at the time when the eggs 
gatherers visit the islets, they are seen coming from 
the south, just resting and departing north. The 
successive months of March, April, and May, are 
those of the ego harvest: . 
The Keys are open to all adventurers, ‘but the 
ega-sathering is regulated by a custom which recog- 
nises the first coming vessels as commanding for the 
the season. ‘The second vessel in seniority is called 
the commodore, the first being styled the admiral. 
They have a code of laws, to which, ina spirit of 
honourable compliance all are expected to shew 
obedience, and in ease of any infraction of the 
obligations thus voluntarily imposed upon themselves, 
a jury selected from the several vessels try coms 
plaints, and, with due formality, inflict punishment 
for offences. 
The south-west is the principal of the Pedro keys, 
The stay of the birds that resort there to breed is 
prolonged by the successive loss of the eggs they 
lay. Each loss is a stimulus to a fresh act of pair- 
ing ; anew lot of eggs being the results, possibly in 
number equal to the former lot, but probably less, 
as the latter deposits are a forced production at the 
expense of the vigour of the bird, without any 
additional strength to the constitution by the 
