^56 



THE MUSEUM. 



Most of our American Swallows have 

 the faculty of making their nests of mud 

 adhere firmly to a perpendicular sur- 

 face; but this faculty seems to be 

 wanting in the Esculent Swallow. It 

 must have a projecting shelf for its 

 'nest to rest upon; and as the precipice 

 does not afford satisfactory locations, 

 it proceeds to build one for itself. In 

 the back part of the bird's mouth, 

 near the root of its tongue, are located 

 two large glands. Some anatomists 

 say that they are identical with the sal- 

 ivary glands and others that they are 

 distinct; but be that as it may, their 

 function is to secrete a thick, viscid, 

 substance much resembling a concen- 

 trated solution of gum arabic. It has 

 the property of quickly hardening when 

 exposed to the air, and it then presents 

 the appearance of a piece of transpar- 

 ent white horn. Professor Troschel, 

 of Brown University, made a careful 

 chemical analysis of a large number of 

 samples, and found it to differ but 

 slightly from saliva. 



When the bird wishes to build its 

 nest, it hovers for an intsant, directly 

 in front of the selected location; then 

 darting suddenly forward, it presses a 

 drop of this substance against the wall. 



This operation is repeated from 

 twenty to thirty times, or, until the 

 supply is exhausted. Then its mate 

 does the same. A few deft touches in 

 arranging, and the work is completed 

 for one day. The following day the 

 process is repeated and so on until a 

 shelf has been built, large enough to 

 support the nest, which is constructed 

 of small sticks and pieces of sea-weed, 

 cemented with mud. It is the shelf, 

 and not the nest which furnishes the 

 article of commerce. The nest with 

 its contents is thrown into the sea. 



When the shelf is destroyed, the bird 

 immediately begins to rebuild, but this 

 time it cements bits of wood into it, 

 so that it is of inferior quality. The 

 third it uses more foreign substances, 

 and the fourth time it incorporates 

 such a large proportion of foreign sub- 

 stances that the nest is worthless for 

 commercial purposes. It is therefore 

 not disturbed. The secretion also be- 

 comes darker at each successive per- 

 iod. 



When gathered, the nests, or rather 

 the shelves, are carefully washed and 

 sorted and all foreign bodies are re- 

 moved. Then they are packed in small 

 bags, made of woven bamboo fiber, 

 and are ready for market. Nests of 

 the first quality are sold for a sum 

 equal to about thirty dollars a pound. 

 The second quality brings half as much; 

 and the third varies from ten dollars 

 to almost nothing. The total sum ex- 

 pended by China for these nests equals 

 not far from a million and a half dol- 

 lars, which represent the destruction 

 of about three million nests. These 

 figures, may perhaps, give some idea 

 of the immense number of birds which 

 flock to their favorite locations. 



Lincoln Park, Chicago, Nov. 24, 1894. 

 Mr. Walter F. Webb. 



My dear Sir: — I must say that your first 

 number was very line, and if you can keep it 

 up you will have one of iheliuest publications 

 in the countr,y. You have my liest wishes for 

 its success. Very Truly Yours, 



Fkank C. Bakek. 

 Secretary and Curator. 



FOR SALE. (Curiosity) A double- 

 heach'd calf, mounted, true to nature, with 

 two noses and four eyes. It is of a nice color, 

 standing on a fine postament and worth $50. 

 Best Casii oiler ImUi's it. 



Address, JOHN FRIESSKR, 



2a4G Wabash Ave., Chicago, 111. 



ALLKiATORS stuffed, standing erect, or 

 crawling, 10 to 12 inch, prepaid for 60c. Or- 

 der at once. W. F. WEBB, Albion, N. Y. 



