STOEIES ABOUT BIEDS. 225 



nest of the esculent swallow is regarded as a 

 great luxury. It is composed iu part of a sub- 

 stance resembling gum, which is eaten by the 

 emjoerors and noblemen, and other rich people. 

 It commands so high a price that none but the 

 wealthy can afford to eat it. These nests are 

 found in caverns, and the capture of them is 

 often attempted with a great deal of danger. 

 The caves are sometimes only reached by a 

 perpendicular descent of several hundred feet, 

 by means of ladders made of bamboo or ratan, 

 over a sea dashing violently against the rocks. 

 When the mouth of the cave is reached, the 

 task of taking the nest must be performed by 

 torch-light, by pushing one's way into the small 

 crevices of the rocks, Avliere the slightest slip 

 of the foot would be instantly fatal to the ad- 

 venturers, who would be precipitated into the 

 chasm below, where the surf is rolling with 

 the noise of thunder. These nests sell fre- 

 quently for as high a price as twenty or thirty 

 dollars a pound. It is said that from Java 

 there are annually exported upward of twenty 

 thousand pounds of these birds' nests, the 

 greater part of which are of the first quality. 

 The whole yearly quantity consumed, it is 

 computed, cannot be less than two hundred 

 thousand pounds, which cost the consumers 



