PUFFIN, OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
plain surface, for the depth of six h nJrecJ 
feet — the height of the rock, in many p ac. s — 
afForcl great entertainment to a curious end m- 
quisitive mind. It is strange, to see Slieep aad 
Lambs I'eedmg near the water's edge, in the 
lower parts of this clifF ; and not easily con- 
ceivable how they get thither, Vvithout being 
precipitated into the deep: but they have the 
power of treading surely, in places inaccessible 
to Man. Though these birds are not courjted 
eatable, yet many of tliem^are destroyed through 
wantonness. When a* gun is discharged, from 
sea, under the roclc, the birds fly ofF in such 
amazing numbers as to darken the surface of 
the sea under them. Great numbers are al- 
ways seen, fishing in the sea ; others, sitting on 
the Cliffs ; and many, always passing and re-' 
passing over your boat. The Fishermen make 
baks of tlieir flesh, to catch Lobsters, Grabs. &c. 
The ignorant, on this part of the island, sup- 
pose that these birds are found in no part of 
the world but at the Needles. The face e-f | 
tliis stupendous rock extends about four miles ; 
and very nearly, if not precisely, facing the 
south. The west point terminates in what is 
properly called the Needles ; which are several i 
vast 
