THE SWALLOW. 321 



Buch pests into the house is far more easy than to extirpate 

 them. Most insects are killed at once by inhaling the vapour of 

 turpentine, but I have kept a number of them shut up in a tin box 

 in which some spirits of turpentine had been poured, and after 

 six and thirty hours found them still alive. They certainly 

 dislike the vapour, and it has the effect of stupefying them. 

 But, as soon as they are removed from its influence, the fresh 

 ail- seems to restore them, and they begin to crawl about again. 



The common Swallow (Hirundo rustica) also makes a clay- 

 built nest, similar in many respects to that of the martin, but 

 differing in its shape. The nest of the martin is always covered, 

 and entered by an aperture on one side. Mostly it is built 

 immediately under a projecting ledge, which answers the purpose 

 of a roof, but if no such accommodation can be obtained, it 

 covers in the nest with a dome-like roof The nest of the 

 Swallow, on the contrary, is open at the top, probably because 

 the long forked tail would be crushed if pressed into so small a 

 compass, while the shorter and simpler tail of the martin does 

 not require so much space. 



Wherever it can find an old chimney, the Swallow will always 

 build its nest therein, a habit which has gained for the bird the 

 popular title of Chimney Swallow. It will, however, build in 

 many other situations, such as precipitous rocks and quarries, 

 barns, outhouses, and steeples. There are usually five eggs, and 

 the nest is lined with a soft bed of feathers, like that of the 

 martin. 



I MUST now refer the reader to the large illustration, wherein 

 is depicted a group of native^ engaged in digging eggs out of an 

 earth-heap. This engraving represents a scene of veiy common 

 occurrence in Australia, and serves to illustrate the habits 

 of the natives as weU as of the bird which will presently be 

 described. 



In the foreground is a group of natives resting themiselves 

 after a successful hunt, the evidences of which are scattered 

 around them. There is the emu with its head in the woman's 

 lap, the kangaroo, the echidna, and the duckbiU. The weapons 

 by which they were killed are thrown carelessly on the grduhd, 

 and comprise the waddy or club, the boomerang, the ^eai, 



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