throwing up the contents of
the stomach, are the only means of offence and defence they seem to
possess. The old ones, which are valuable on account of their feathers,
my companions made dreadful havoc amongst, knocking on the head all they
could come up with. These birds are very helpless on the land, the
great length of their wings precluding them from rising up into the air,
unless they can get to a steep declivity. On the level ground they were
completely at our mercy, but very little was shewn them; and in a very
short space of time the plain was strewn with their bodies, one blow on
the head generally killing them instantly. Five months after, many of
the young birds were still sitting on their nests, and had never moved
away from them; they remain there for a year before they can fly, and
during that long period are fed by the mother. They had greatly
increased in size and beauty since my first visit to them. The semblance
of the young bird, as it sits on the nest, is stately and beautiful. The
white down, which is its first covering, giving place gradually to its
natural grey plumage, leaves half the creature covered with down; the
other half is a fine compact coat of feathers, composed of white and
grey; while the head is of a dazzling, silvery white. Their size is
prodigious, one of them proving a tolerable load. Upon skinning them,
on our return, we found they were covered with a fine white fat, which I
was told was excellent for frying, and other culinary purposes; and the
flesh was quite as delicate, and could scarcely be distinguished in
flavour from lamb. Besides our albatross, the dogs caught some small
birds, about the size of our partridge, but their gait was something
like that of the penguin. The male is of a glossy black, with a bright
red hard crest on the top of the head. The hen is brown. They stand
erect, and have long yellow legs, with which they run very fast; their
wings are small and useless for flying, but they are armed with sharp
spurs for defence, and also, I imagine, for assisting them in climbing,
as they are found generally among the rocks. The name they give this
bird here is simply "cock," its only note being a noise very much
resembling the repetition of that word. Its flesh is plump, fat, and
excellent eating.

VISIT TO A PENGUIN ROOKERY.

The spot of ground occupied by our settlers is bounded on each side by
high _bluffs_, which extend far into the sea, leaving a space i