56 
WITH NATURE AND A CAMERA. 
“ With Nature and a Camera, being the Adventures and Observations of a 
Field Naturalist and an Animal Photographer.” By Richard Kearton, F.Z.S. , illus- 
trated by 180 pictures from photographs by Cherry Kearton. (Cassell & Co., 
Limited. ) 
This book has a merit of a new 
quality. It contains numerous repre- 
sentations from photographs of wild 
animals in their native haunts, and 
transacting the business of their lives. 
To obtain such photographs great 
pains must be taken, considerable 
dangers encountered, and hardships 
endured. But that is not all. Skill 
in photography, a nice faculty of ob- 
servation, and, not least, the ability 
to remain perfectly still for long 
periods of time are required. Thoreatt 
could remain still, and owed to this 
rare physical accomplishment much 
of his success in the observation of 
animals. 
In the first part of the book is 
described a visit to St. Kilda. This 
is of great general interest. The in- 
habitants being in communication 
with the world for three months only 
in the year have a distinctive cha- 
racter, and many of their habits and 
notions are archaic. To a large extent 
fowling and egg collecting is the 
industry of the island. Some of the 
natives have acquired astonishing 
dexterity in catching birds with rod 
and line, at the end of which is a 
running noose of horsehair and gan- 
net quills plaited together. As many 
as 620 puffins were once bagged in 
a single day by one of the author’s 
friends. 
At St. Kilda, the photographer 
performed many feats of cliff climb- 
ing with his camera. The accompany- 
ing illustration shows how a descent 
was made. “Cliff photography,” it 
is said, “ although really not very 
dangerous, is at first rather trying to 
the nerves.” In this way many 
excellent photographs of birds, nests, 
eggs, and young were obtained. We 
ate enabled to reproduce one, that 
of a fulmar petrel on its nest. The 
remarkable and unpleasing faculty which this bird has of squirting oil at a too 
“curious impertinent” is well known. This particular fulmar so attacked Mr. 
Cherry Kearton. The first discharge failed. The oil travelled three or four 
feet “ describing a kind of half circle, and falling short of the mark,” but Mr. 
K. Kearton writes : “ As the photographer got nearer and commenced to fix up 
his apparatus amongst some huge boulders, I noticed the bird moving her head 
and neck rapidly up and down as if trying to remove some obstacle from her 
throat. In less than two minutes she again ejected a quantity of oil, and, as 
Descent ok a Cuff. 
From “ With Nature and a Camera.” 
