102 THE ARCHITECTURE OF BIRDS. 



such as are taken before the birds have laid their 

 eggs. The coarsest are those obtained after the 

 young have been fledged. The finest nests are the 

 whitest; that is, those taken before the nest has 

 been rendered impure by the food and faeces of the 

 young birds. The best are white, and the inferior 

 dark-coloured, streaked with blood, or intermixed 

 with feathers. It may be remarked, however, that 

 some of the natives describe the purer nests as the 

 dwelling of the cock-bird, and always so designate 

 them in commerce. Birds' nests are collected twice 

 a year; and, if regularly collected, and no unusual 

 injury be offered to the caverns, will produce very 

 equally, the quantity being very little, if at all, im- 

 proved by the caves being left altogether unmolest- 

 ed for a year or two. Some of the caverns are ex- 

 tremely difficult of access, and the nests can only be 

 collected by persons accustomed from their youth to 

 the office. The most remarkable and productive 

 caves in Java, of which I superintended a moiety 

 of the collection for several years, are those of Ka- 

 rang-bolang, in the province of Baglen, on the south 

 coast of the island. There the caves are only to be 

 approached by a perpendicular descent of many 

 hundred feet, by ladders of bamboo and ratan, over 

 a sea rolling violently against the rocks. When the 

 mouth of the cavern is attained, the perilous office 

 of taking the nests must often be performed with 

 torchlight, by penetrating into recesses of the rock, 

 when the slightest trip would be instantly fatal to 

 the adventurers, who see nothing below them but 

 the turbulent surf making its way into the chasms 

 of the rock. The only preparation which the birds' 

 nests undergo is that of simple drying, without direct 

 exposure to the sun, after which they are packed in 

 small boxes usually of a picul.* They are assorted 

 for the Chinese market into three kinds, according 



* The picul is about 135 pounds. 



