ake notice, whereas others who have just been roaring have not
the slightest regard paid to them, except perhaps by one immediately
concerned.

The bull, during the breeding season, will on provocation attack a man,
and it is surprising how quickly the former covers the ground. But on
the whole he is an inoffensive animal. It is, of course, impossible to
venture into a rookery, as the cows are very savage when they have the
pups with them, but one can approach within a few yards of its outskirts
without danger. Their food consists of cuttlefish, crabs and fish,
and it is probable that they frequent the ocean where this food is
plentiful, when they are absent from the island.

It has been stated that these animals are nearly extinct, but a visit to
Macquarie Island during the breeding season would be enough to convince
anybody to the contrary. There are thousands of them, and though about
seven hundred are killed during a season, the increase in numbers each
year, on Macquarie Island alone, must be very great.

The skuas were now returning to the island and their numbers and
corresponding clamour were daily increasing. They were the noisiest and
most quarrelsome birds we had, but their advent, we hoped, marked the
return of less rigorous weather.

Blake left for Lusitania Bay on the 17th, intending to spend several
months there in order to survey and geologically examine the southern
end, so we gave him a send-off dinner. He had a very rough trip to the
place, having to spend two nights in a cave about six miles from his
destination, as a result of getting lost in a dense fog.

Hamilton made a wire fish-trap to replace the one which he had lost, and
succeeded in getting a few fish on lowering it for the first time. He
discovered parasitical mites all over them on the outside, and the flesh
contained many worms.

A heavy north-north-west gale was experienced on the 26th, but the
weather during the last three days of August was very quiet, either
calms or light winds prevailing, and we took the opportunity to do some
work on Wireless Hill. All the wire stays were tightened, and various
ropes which appeared to require attention were renewed, while, as a
final improvement, the aerial was hauled as tight as we could make it.

We heard on July 31 that the 'Rachel Cohen', a sealing-vessel, had
sailed for Macquarie Island and was bringing a few articles for us,
so there was something to which we could look forward in the