SEAL OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS.
Fred wanted to visit the Falklands, not so much to examine the country as to see the seals and penguins, which are killed there in great numbers. As he was unable to make the journey, he contented himself with a description given by a fellow-passenger.
PATAGONIA AND TIERRA DEL FUEGO.
"The penguin is a funny-looking bird," said the gentleman, "and his breeding-place is as funny as he is. In the first place, he can't fly; he has two wings, like any other bird, but they are very short, and only useful for helping him over the ground when on land, and for paddling him about in the water. He doesn't use his wings much, though, in the water, as his broad feet are webbed like a duck's, and propel him very rapidly.
"When I first came to this part of the world I was on a schooner in search of penguin oil. We went to one of the rocky islands where the birds make their home, and found a city of probably a hundred thousand penguins."
"A hundred thousand in one city!" exclaimed Fred, in astonishment.
"Yes, a hundred thousand at least," was the reply, "and I've seen a penguin city five times as large as that. There was a space of fifty or sixty acres covered with birds about as thick as they could sit together; it was laid off into squares by streets running at right angles, and a surveyor couldn't have made the lines straighter than they were.
"And not only do they lay the ground out into squares, but they level it off and pick up all the stones and shells lying around, so that it is as smooth as a lawn. Then the birds go in pairs, and each pair picks out a place for a nest; it isn't a nest at all, but simply a spot on the ground. The hen lays one egg, and only one; the male bird brings her food from the sea, or if she wishes occasionally to have a swim he sits on the egg during her absence. He takes such good care of her that she is always plump and fat, and for this reason the penguins are sought and killed during their breeding season.