June 1902JUNE 1902.
JUNE 1902.
Onlytowards the end of this month did we experience anything like summer weather. Belieing the wintry weather we had been experiencing, the fragrant odour of the hawthorn blossom borne on the off-shore wind imparts a pleasurable sensation, recalling scenes of earlier days when void of care we went “flourish” gathering, or later on disported ourselves amongst the “hips and haws.” Here, no sylvan scenery greets the tired eye nor gives respite to the senses from the everlasting waste of waters, with its ever-changing moods, from placid glassy calm to the wildest turbulence, when blustering Boreas drives his team amain, and the white-maned coursers charge down upon us like an avalanche. As the tide drops, and the long lush tangles trail their tattered tops on the surface, a dank heavy odour is perceptible, scarcely so pleasing to the senses as that of the “hawthorn bud that opes in the month of May.” Equipped with a stout stick bearing an iron hook, an hour’s crab-hunting among the rocks brings one into contact with many forms of life otherwise unnoticed. Groping underneath a projecting ledge, to ascertain if the inmate is at home, the eye is arrested by minute nodules of scarlet jelly pendant from the roof, and destined to become a close imitation of their terrestrial namesake the anemone, or, in similar situations, patches of white whelk ova appear like so many grains of wheat arranged as close as possible to each other.
Recently a solitary instance was noticed of a whelk carrying the ova attached to the exterior of its own shell. Many different species of whelks are thus met with, some scarcely distinguishable by the naked eye. The intrusion of the crab-stick soon betrays the presence of the crab. Gripping the “cleek” in his claws, he prepares for resistance by forcing his back against the roof of his domicile with all the power his crooked legs are capable of. Should he feel himself being drawn he immediately releases his grip, and, if possible, “seeks his benmost bore.” Should the cleek find a favourable hold, such as under the armpit, so to speak, he is soon dislodged, but if the hole be somewhat crooked it is extremely difficult to move him, and even then he may make his appearance in sections, as he parts company with the different members of his body on the slightest provocation, a proceeding about which he has but little compunction, as he knows well others will soon sprout in their places, a convenience which Nature might with advantage have extended to thegenus homo. Poachers, it is stated, have made use of these crustaceans while “ferretting” rabbits, by sending them into the burrows with a stump of lighted candle stuck on their backs. One can fancy the surprise with which “bunny” would stand aghast at such a fearful apparition.
Scarcely a bird is to be seen in our vicinity at present, nesting operations calling them elsewhere. A few foraging gannets are seen daily passing and repassing, catering for their sitting mates on the Bass Rock. The terns and gulls will probably have their wants supplied from the shores in the neighbourhood of their nurseries. The nest of the tern is of the simplestdescription—a slight depression on a gravelly beach or grassy mound, or even the bare surface of a rock is considered sufficient for their purpose, nest-building, in their estimation, being evidently considered superfluous. It is surprising that the eggs remain in some of the positions in which they are deposited. I have frequently set them rolling along the rock surface by the action of my breath. On their exit from the egg the young are immediately led by the parents to a shingly beach, or other place of concealment, where it is extremely difficult to detect them from their surroundings. Here they are fed with sand-eels and other small fry till such time as they are able to wing their way to the fishing grounds themselves, though even then they are frequently the recipients of the parents’ generosity, their hunting powers being as yet inadequate to supply their needs.
The work in connection with the alterations here progresses rapidly, and by the end of next month it is expected but little will be left undone. To all external appearance the work is already finished, but the building of the huge lens and revolving machinery, along with the internal fittings, have yet to be completed.