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MEN AND MATTERS-
Migration of Birds. '
The subject of bird migration is receiving
a good deal of attention at present from
Australian ornithologists, and tome very
interesting experiments arc being made
(cays a writer in The Town and Country
Journal). Nearly every species of bird
nigrates to a greater or less extent, but
when migratory 'birds are referred to by a
naturalist, 'be means tho.se species which
make long journeys over lands and seas.
There are- partial migrations, in which
flocks of birds move only from one district
to another, in search of better feeding
grounds; or birds of the mountains come
down to the lon-lands at the advent of
winter. For instance, at the present time
robins.arc beginning to appear in the paddocks,
from which they have been absent
•Utpyng and summer.* The true migratory
birds often covcr thousands of miles in
their, seasonal flights. Among the Australian
birds which do not stay with us ail
ihe year round air. more than a score of
v Tanderers. They breed in the far north,
Jojne within the Arctic Circle, in Siberia,
ffhey are in reality only visitors, although
«-e claim them as "Australian bird. 1 !." The
lurnstonc neste in Siberia, the Australian
. enipe in Japan. Some species of plover, sea
curlews, and god wits, also rear their young
5d the north. There has been much speculation
on ihft subject of migration, but
fen to-day mystery still shrouds tbe goings
end comings of many Girds. How the
. •wonderful journeys are performed, bow
tie. migrants 2nd their way .through the
trackless air, we do not know. The sen.se
of what is called- orientation is strongly
developed in. birds-, but that does not explain
the origin of migration. It is generally
accepted that birds always breed in
tte moet northerly part of their range,
and that the impulse to breed is tbe
primary cause o£ migration. Tbe origin,
desj/fteall theories, is an unsolved problem.
E^garding the assertion that a bird alwa\s
r/needs in the coldest part of its The
most recent authority on migration I Mr.
T. A. Coward) points out that some birds
in Australia, but spend tie winter in
oceanic - islands, where the temperature is
lower than, in tbe breeding area. Tbe
theory that migration was origihallv due to
the glacial epoch, and the. Polar regions
were the first home of aU the northern
birds, is no longer favpured by the majority
of students. The advance of the ice
TOay 'have pushed 'bird life further south
jear'after year, witil they were eonfincd
lo the warmer regions. And the ibeorv iss
..that in migrating, as tbey now do to' tbe
„ cold regions to nest, they-are impelled bv
hereditary love of their original home.
Ihe ice mass gradually reccded, and <-nabled
them to return to the ancestral .home
«nce a year. But they only visit the region,
feeing still in love with tbe warm south.
' f/ 5 ™ aps researches and observations
that a^e now being made will :-bcd some
iresn right on tie problems of migration.
Tire Whaling Industry. —~
Recently, at the invitation of Mr. August
.Slang. \ ice-Consul for Xonrav. and attorney
for the Western Australian Whaling
Company, a number of prominent public
men paid a visit of inspection to tie comvrvp
factory steamW Vasco da Gama,
anf-afterwards made .a short cruise in the
tm^cr JUem. On: rniral cfn hoard the
yaBM da Gama, tbe visitors were taken
in land .by Capt; F. .Sieg*artb, who conductedthem
over the various parts of the
ship. Once the captive; has been brought
alongside, Capt. Siegwarth, explained to bis
hearers, small punts were launched over
tie ade. each of them- being manned fcy
tvm or throe men. The men were each provided
with formidable boomerang-shaped
knives, attacked to long wooden handles
with which thev cut the blubber into long
strips. Giie end of the blubber was then
attached . to the winch; which tore it in
. long st^ps from the'.carcase. The knives
nsed |or this, purpose have necessarily to
be kept well Sharpened, and immediately a
whale is hove alongside one or two men are
toJd off /specially for this work. In order
to .give some idea of what these duties involve
it might be mentioned that two
'. grindstones driven by machinerv. are used
and it sometimes happens that no less
, t™* stones are -worn out at one
W
catch. Alter the.blubber las been stripped
from toe carcase, je is emptied into a mill.
A chain of raijiaiy revolving knives cuis
Jt into small nieces, and it is'then carried
by an aerial trolly to tbe steam boilc.
Once in the latter receptacle steam is
turned on. a prcsajrc of about 40 lb.-being
maintained. The oil. once it has been reauccd
from the blubber, is drawn off. and
is then practically ready for commercial
use. The blubber, however, is not the onlv
profitable pajf* of a whale. Indeed, to the
modern wilder, every little portion of the
ampnifcnoyti creature has a commercial
v^Ing,. , The huge carcase, having been
f^Vtoped of tbe blabber, is then cut in
/ffllwes and hauled oil to the deck, where it
is .cut into small pieces bv the aid of many
cythe-Jike blade?. Tic flesh, too. c
-tains oil. but only about a third a.- much as
the blubber. Tie whole of the carcase is
then placed into press ore boilers, or digesters.
the steam pressure in this case being
necessarily greater than in' the case of
the blubber. The residue from these
boilerj is subseauently utilized as fertilizer
and cattle food.' On tie Vasco da
however, there is not sufficient room
i<ir the drying treatment and milling of tbe
residue. Oncc land stations have beeu
established along the north-west coast the
residue will be converted into fertilizers
and so fortn. Subsequently the visitors
proceeded on board the whaler K!em. and
shortly afterward tbey. were speeding towards
the Gage Eoads. When the little
craft was^about two mile; to the westward
o/ tlie moles. Capt. Olsen prepared to give
bis guests an ocular demonstration of the
. Ijifit'ncjds adopted in the capture of a
"whale. In the olden days an ordinary
hand harpoon was used for the purpose.
lint cowrdavs it fi1,,^.! of
uut cowr.aa5s it is bred from the barrel of
a Divot Ztm, mounted on the fore part OI
the steamer. To the end of the barpoon is
at:acied a bomb which once it comes in
contact wita ita object, esplodes, and kills j
lie whale. Wtajes being scarce Capt OI- !
sen. an whom invariably devolves the duty ]
of dispaMhinc the deadly missile on its er- !
rand of si a u? a ter, had perforcc to depend
Ben fired. Tbe harpooD hit tbe target
on which to demonstrate his prowess with
the cun. A barrel attached to a lengta
of small line was placed over tie side. •
The vessel was then stopped, and whea the
barrel was about 100 ft. distant, Capt. O!-
fen fired. The harboon hit the target
just, on the underneath portion, and then
skimmed for some distance alon? the butface
of tfle water. It was a well-directed
shot, and could not "have failed to prove '
fatal to the whale had there been one in '
that particular spot.
The Old Maid.
A Jewel lay sloag tke pats,
Acd men in passing bimhea it by.
IV>r it »-a« in the roujrh and lacked
The lnetrc that might charm- «he ere.
The «eaK>n» sped ar.d Lhsn there rair.c
A roaster mar;, u-boee (tlarre was tine,
Be ran «nd grzsped the precious ftotie,
A ayirc out! " 'lis mine! 'tis mir-t-
And then behold! a fri«dlr touch.
And through the -muster maker's urt
The Jfiral on that manly bres«
Becircc the pejidmt of his heart.
—Joseph Solomon.
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