6 Dr. R. 0. Cunningham on the Solan Goose'. 
screaming and din are such that you can hardly hear the voice 
of one who addresses you. He afterwards proceeds to make 
some observations on the white crust covering a very consider¬ 
able portion of the rock (caused by the excrement of the Gannet 
and other sea-birds), remarking that it is so hard and solid 
and adheres so intimately to the rock, that it might readily 
be mistaken for the natural soil of the place. In the magni¬ 
ficent geographical work of Blaev*, published at Amsterdam 
in 1662, we find two detailed and, on the whole, very accurate 
notices of the Solan Goose. In the first of these, which occurs 
in the course of a description of “ Lauden,” or “ Lothien,” it is 
stated (p. 40) that at a particular time of the year sea-birds 
like Geese, and thence so called, arrive from foreign parts and 
establish themselves on the Bass Rock, where they deposit their 
eggs and hatch their young. These birds are found nowhere 
else in the whole of Europe, another rock in the Firth of Clydef 
excepted. There is such a quantity of them that they are a 
source of great profit to the proprietor of the island; for not 
only is their flesh fit for food, but their feathers serve for making 
mattresses. They come to the island about the middle of April, 
and take their departure about the middle of September; but 
previously to their arrival in flocks they send before them soli¬ 
tary individuals to act as scouts. They only produce one egg 
at a time, which they dexterously place on one end and keep 
warm with one of their feet, rarely or never deserting it till the 
young bird is hatched, and this because if it is temporarily left, 
and then moved by any person from its original position, it is 
impossible to replace it so as to remain firmly upon the rock, and 
the bird is therefore obliged to lay another in its place. It is 
peculiar to these birds that they cannot fly out of sight of the 
sea, hence they are often caught when driven inland by the force 
of the wind. The young, when they attain the magnitude of 
the domestic goose, are sweet and fit for eating, but the flesh 
of the old birds is hard, lean, and dry. The inhabitants of the 
island collect their nests, using them as fuel. The following 
* Geographic Blaviane Yolumen sexttim, quo Liber XII, XIII, Euro¬ 
pe continentvr. Amsteledami. Lahore & Sumptibus Joannis Blaev. 
X It is almost needless to say that Ailsa is referred to. 
