286 THE UNIVERSE. 



they take the place of rice or tapioca in soup, and their taste 

 greatly resembles that of the latter. 1 



But the most charming of our aerial masons is assuredly 

 the party-colored wren, crowned with its brilliant crest of 

 gold. Its nest resembles so many wide-mouthed extinguish- 

 ers reversed, and glued by one side to the stems of reeds. 

 These little breeding-cups are composed of bits of grass 

 pasted together with mud and saliva, forming a thin wall 

 almost as hard as cardboard, a transition step to the nests 

 of the esculent swallow. 



There are also workers which employ mixed materials, 

 and which we do not know how to classify. Among these 

 is the common thrush. Externally its beautiful nest is 

 formed entirely of tufts of moss, as if it were to be a luxu- 

 rious structure ; internally it is lined with a compact coating 

 of earth, on which the brood lie naked, as if the parents 

 dreaded the effect which the heat of down would have upon 

 them. This bird is therefore only half a mason, and its nest 

 is a perfect architectural anomaly in the class to which the 

 bird belongs ; since in this class the parents usually deposit 

 their progeny on a soft and warm bed of down, while it 

 places them on a surface cold and quite bare. 



We have, at the beginning of this chapter, seen that 



1 These birds are found in great abundance in all parts of the Eastern Archi- 

 pelago, and also on the continent of India ; the nests are collected in large quan- 

 tities, and constitute an important article of commerce with China. The prices 

 paid for these nests in the Canton market vary greatly according to the quality; 

 those of the best and purest sort fetch the enormous price of 3500 Spanish dol- 

 lars (=4.s. 6r7. each) per pecul, or about 25 dollars per pound; the second quality 

 brings 2800 Spanish dollars per pecul ; and the third not more than 1600 dollars. 

 In some parts of China, however, as much as 40 dollars has been paid for a catty 

 of birds' nests, or rather more than one pound and a quarter. Goodrich. 



