How Animals Work. 



nest generally to some beam or rafter in a cowshed 

 or other farm outbuilding, while the Martin builds 

 beneath the eaves or window ledges of our houses. 

 The nest of the Swallow is really a wonderful piece of 

 work, consisting of a semicircular saucer or bowl com- 

 posed of mud pellets, kneaded together with short frag- 

 ments of straw with wonderful skill, lined with straws 

 and some horsehair and fine grass, and with a final inner 

 lining of feathers. The House Martin builds a nearly 

 globular nest, the walls of which are composed of mud 

 pellets, and it is completely closed save for one small 

 hole. It is lined with bits of straw, and has an inner 

 cushion of feathers, on which the pure white eggs are 

 deposited. The labour of constructing these nests is 

 very great, for neither the Swallow nor the House 

 Martin has a particularly large mouth, so that many 

 hundreds of journeys have to be made backwards and 

 forwards in order to carry sufficient mud for the build- 

 ing of the nest, each tiny beakful being mixed with 

 saliva, which causes the mud to set as a hard natural 

 cement. 



In Gilbert White's day the chimneys of our houses 

 were large, roomy shafts, very different both in structure 

 and appearance from the narrow flue and patent hideous 

 cowl which generally do duty to-day. And it was in 

 those old roomy chimneys that the Swallows loved to 

 build, and of this habit, which the alteration in the 

 general plan and structure of our chimneys has com- 

 pelled the birds to abandon, Gilbert White gives the 

 following interesting account : " Here and there a bird 

 may affect some odd, peculiar place as we have known 

 a swallow build down the shaft of an old well, through 



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