pas trente livres tournois."[3] Sec. 2 enacts, “Depuis ce jour[4] au 15 Octobre prochain, il est defendu de tuer, blesser, prendre ou chasser les oiseaux de mer dans toute l’entendue de la jurisdiction de cette isle.”  Sec. 3, “Ceux qui depuis ce jour au 15 Octobre prochain auront ete trouves en possession d’un oiseau de mer recemment tue, blesse ou pris, ou qui auront ete trouves en possession de plumage frais appartenant d’un oiseau de mer seront censes avoir tue, blesse ou pris tel oiseau de mer sauf e eux de prouver le contraire.  Pareillement ceux qui depuis ce jour au 15 Octobre prochain auront ete trouves en possession d’un oeuf de l’annee d’un oiseau de mer seront censes avoir pris et enleve le dit oeuf sauf a eux de prouver le contraire.”  The penalty in each case is the same as in Section 1.  Section 4 contains the list of the oiseaux de mer which come under the protection of the Act, which is as follows:—­Les Mauves Mouettes, Pingouins, Guillemots, Cormorans, Barbelotes, Hirondelles de mer, Pies-marants, Petrel, Plongeons, Grebes, Puffins, Dotterells, Alouettes de mer, Toumpierres, Gannets, Courlis et Martin pecheur.

As far as the eggs of many of the species actually breeding in the Islands are concerned, this Act seems to be a dead letter:  the only birds of any size whose eggs are not regularly robbed are the Herring Gulls and Shags, and they take sufficient care of themselves; were the Act strictly enforced it would probably be found that there would be—­as would be the case in England—­a good deal of opposition to this part of it, which would greatly interfere with what appears to be a considerable article of food with many of the population.  Probably the only compromise which would work, and could be rigidly enforced, would be to fix a later date for the protection of the eggs—­say as late as the 15th June; this would allow those who wanted to rob the eggs for food to take the earlier layings, and the birds would be able to bring up their second or third broods in peace; and probably the fishermen and others, who use the eggs as an article of consumption, would be glad to assist in carrying out such an Act as this, as they would soon find the birds increase so much that they would be able to take as many eggs by the middle of June as they do now in the whole year, especially the Black-back Gulls and the Puffins, which are the birds mostly robbed,—­the latter of which are certainly decreasing considerably in numbers in consequence.

This plan is successfully carried out by many private owners of the large breeding-stations of the Gannets, Eider Duck, and other sea-birds in the north of England and Scotland.  Of course, it must not be supposed that all the birds mentioned in the Act whose eggs are protected breed in the Islands, or anywhere within ten or fifteen degrees of latitude of the Islands; in fact, a great many of them are not there at all during the breeding-season, except perhaps an occasional wounded bird which has been unable to join its companions on their migratory journey, or a few non-breeding stragglers.