rk-green tussock-clad hillsides were
rather attractive. On the other hand, one was immediately struck with
the entire absence of trees, the steep precipices, cliffs and the
exceedingly rugged nature of the coastline.

Closer scrutiny shows that the tussock grass radiates closely from a
semi-decayed mass of leaf-sheaths, with the blades of grass shooting
upwards and outwards as high as three or four feet. Scattered through it
are patches of Stilbocarpa polaris, locally known as Maori cabbage. It
is of a more vivid green than the tussock and is edible, though somewhat
stringy and insipid. Our sheep ate it readily, even nibbling the roots
after the plant had been cropped down.

There were several Victoria penguin colonies round about the rocky faces
of the hills in the vicinity of the Shack, and their hubbub and cackling
uproar were something to remember. The rearing of the young appeared to
be rather a busy process. The young ones look like bundles of down and
seem to grow at a remarkable rate, while the attempt of the parent to
shelter the usual two chicks is a very ludicrous thing to watch.

The material for the nest made by these birds seems to depend almost
entirely on its immediate surroundings. The rookery is established on a
broken rocky face close to the water's edge and the nests are made under
rocks, in niches and passages, as well as amongst the tussock growing on
the rocks. Those under the rocks are constructed of small stones and
a few blades of grass, while those in the passages and fissures are
usually depressions in soft mud. Amongst the tussock a hole is first
made in the soft earth and then neatly lined with blades of grass.

The birds lay two or three eggs of a white or greenish-white colour, but
I have never seen three chicks hatched. The eggs are edible, and we used
many dozens of them during our stay.

The period of incubation is about five weeks, and male and female take
turns at sitting. A young one is fed by placing its beak within that
of the parent bird where the food--mainly crustaceans--is taken as it
regurgitates from the stomach of the latter.

Although the smallest species on the island, the Victoria penguins are
the most spiteful, and a scramble through the rookery invites many pecks
and much disturbance. They have a black head and back, white breast and
yellow crest, the feathers of which spread out laterally. During the
moulting season they sit in the rookery or perched on surroundi