EDIBLE NESTS. 49 



of sticks, and cased with the gelatinous substance 

 within and without. It seems very probable that 

 the bird subjects the sea- weed to some sort of pre- 

 paration, mixing it, perhaps, with saliva, and so 

 rendering it more adapted to the object they have 

 in view. The caverns in Java produce annually 

 the large amount of 6,810 Ibs. of nests, the average 

 value of which is about 25,000/. In the Indian 

 Archipelago, generally, this singular property is 

 worth 284,290/. per annum, a surprising evidence 

 of the extraordinary value to which the luxury of 

 man is able to elevate an article otherwise of little 

 value. Doubtless a thousand less costly resto- 

 ratives exist; but the Chinese love singularity, 

 and are not unwilling to pay for it. 



Let us advert now to the materials unques- 

 tionably derived from the vegetable kingdom. 

 Perhaps one of the simplest instances of a 

 nest of this kind is that of Savi's warbler. This 

 little bird (Salicdria luscinioides) is occasionally 

 found frequenting our marshes, and uttering a 

 singular note, resembling the noise made by a 

 spinning-wheel. Its nest is pretty, but extremely 

 simple. In shape it resembles a cup. It is placed 

 on the ground. The materials of which it is 

 E 



