Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 82, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 January 1919 — PROCURE OIL FROM BIROS [ARTICLE]

PROCURE OIL FROM BIROS

Inhabitants of the Island of St. Kllda Are Especially Favored in Respect of Light. The price of coal oil Is a matter of no interest to the inhabitants of the Island of St. Kilda, a favorite haunt of that animated oil can, the fulmar, observes the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune. So rich in oil is this sea bird that the natives simply pass a wick through its body and use it as a lamp. The oil Is also one of the principal articles exported from the Island. It is found In the birds’ stomachs, is amber colored and has a peculiarly nauseous odor. The old birds are said to feed the young with it, and when they are caught or attacked they lighten themselves by disgorging It. In St. Kilda it is legal to kill the fulmars only during one week in the year; but during that week from 18,000 to 20,000 birds are destroyed. The mutton., bird of the Antarctic also carries its oil in the stomach and can eject this oil through the nostrils as a means of defense against enemies. Quantities of mutton birds are slaughtered every year for their oil on the coasts of Tasmania and New Zealand. In its composition and properties this oil closely resembles sperm oiL