much of the habits of these birds as of others."

"Can they remain long under water?"

"The greater portion of them cannot; ducks and that class, for instance.
Divers can remain some time; but the birds that remain the longest
under water are the semi-aquatic, whose feet are only half-webbed. I
have watched the common English water-hen for many minutes walking along
at the bottom of a stream, apparently as much in its element as if on
shore, pecking and feeding as it walked."

"You say that aquatic birds cannot remain long at sea,--where do they go
to?"

"They resort to the uninhabited islands over the globe, rocks that
always remain above water, and the unfrequented shores of Africa and
elsewhere; there they congregate to breed and bring up their young. I
have seen twenty or thirty acres of land completely covered with these
birds or their nests, wedged together as close as they could sit. Every
year they resort to the same spot, which has probably been their
domicile for centuries,--I might say since the creation. They make no
nests, but merely scrape so as to form a shallow hole to deposit their
eggs. The consequence of their always resorting to the same spot is
that, from the voidings of the birds and the remains of fish brought to
feed the young, a deposit is made over the whole surface, a fraction of
an inch every year, which by degrees increases until it is sometimes
twenty or thirty feet deep, if not more, and the lower portion becomes
almost as hard as rock. The deposit is termed guano, and has, from time
immemorial, been used by the Peruvians and Chilians as manure for the
land; it is very powerful, as it contains most of the essential salts,
such as ammonia, phosphates, etcetera, which are required for
agriculture. Within these last few years samples have been brought to
England, and as the quantities must be inexhaustible, when they are
sought for and found, no doubt it may one day become a valuable article
of our carrying trade. Here comes Mr Fairburn; I hope he intends to
continue his notices of the Cape settlement."

"They have interested me much, I must confess; he appears well
acquainted with the colony."

"He has had the advantage of a long residence, and during that time an
insight into all the public documents: this you may be certain of, that
he knows more than he will tell."

As soon as Mr Fairburn joined them, Alexander requested him to continue
his narrative, which he did as foll