EDIBLE S WALLOW NESTS. 57 



and confine themselves so closely to their holes, that 

 none of them are seen any more flying, either out or 

 in, hut those which arc hatching. They feed upon 

 all sorts of insects which hover over stagnant waters, 

 and these they easily catch, as they can extend their 

 bills to a great width. They prepare their nests 

 from the strongest remains of the food which they 

 use, and not of the scum of the sea, or of sea-plants, 

 as some persons have supposed. They employ two 

 months in preparing their neots; they then lay their 

 eggs, on which they sit for fifteen or sixteen days. 

 As soon as the young are fledged, people begin to 

 collect their nests, which is done regularly every 

 four months; and this forms the harvest of the 

 proprietors of these rocks. 



The business of taking them down from the rocky 

 ledges on which they are placed, is performed by 

 men who have been accustomed, from their youth, 

 to climb amongst these dangerous places. They 

 construct ladders of reeds and bamboos, by which 

 they are enabled to ascend to the holes; but, if the 

 caverns are too deep, they employ ship-ropes. When 

 they have got to the bottom of a cavern, they place 

 bamboos, with notches in them, against the wall, if 

 these be sufficiently long to reach the nests, but, if 

 not, they stand on the ladders, and pull the nests 

 down with poles of bamboo made for that purpose. 

 This employment, which is very dangerous, sacrifices 

 the lives of a great many men, and particularly of 

 thieves, while attempting to rob the caverns at im- 

 proper seasons. For this reason, small watch-houses 

 are everywhere built in the neighbourhood. 



The mountaineers, who are the persons chiefly ac- 



