voting, and betake themselves to another plaefy which 

 1*511 afford all that is wanting. 



It is highly remarkable, 2. That they knew whi- 

 ther to go, and which way to steer their course I That 

 they should be directed yearly to the same place, 

 perhaps to a little island, as the Basse in Edinburgh 

 Frith. How come land. birds to venture over a vast 

 ocean ? of which they can see no end ? And how do 

 they steer their course aright to their several quarters, 

 vhich before the compass "was invented, man himself 

 was not able to do ? They could not possibly see 

 them at that distance. Or if they could, what should 

 teach or persuade them that that land is more proper 

 for their purpose than this ? That Britain, for in- 

 stance, should afford them better accommodations than 

 Egypt, than the Canaries^ than Spain, or any other 

 of the intermediate places ? 



But it has been commonly supposed that several 

 birds are of this number, because they disappear in 

 winter, which really are not ; cuckoos for instance, 

 and swallows : for neither of these ever cross the 

 seas. Cuckoos lodge all the winter in hollow trees, 

 or other warm and convenient cavities. And swal- 

 lows have been found in vast quantities, clung toge* 

 ther in a lump, like swarms of bees, but utterly 

 cold and senseless, even in ponds that have been 

 cleaned out, hanging under the w ; ater. 



1 know not how we can doubt of this fact, that 

 swallows have been found in winter, under water, 

 clung together, attested by men of unquestionable ve- 

 racity. And yet others affirm, that they have seen 

 ^flights of swallows crossing the sea in autumn. The 

 truth seems to be this. There arc some species of 

 swallows, which seek a warmer climate at the approach 

 of winter, while others remain here in a temporary 

 death, like the flies on which they feed. 



They have in Virginia, a martin like ours, only 

 larger, which builds in the same manner. Col, Bacon 

 observed for several years ; that they constantly came 



