(516 



HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



by use and exposure, and are not fit for the purposes of the table 

 until they have been cleaned and bleached. 



These nests are found in Borneo, Java, &c. and are extremely 

 local, being confined to certain spots. The birds always choose 

 the sides of deep cavernous precipices, so that the task of 

 obtaining the nests is extremely dangerous. They are attached 

 to the perpendicular rocks much as the ordinary mud-built 

 swallow nests, and are generally arranged in horizontal layers. 

 The caverns in which the nests are placed are extremely valuable, 

 and are preserved with jealous care from any intruder. 







EDIBLE SWALLOW. 



One of these nests in my own collection is shaped much like 

 one of the halves of a bivalve shell, and is thick at the base 

 where it was attached to the rock, diminishing .towards the ex- 

 tremity. On the outside it has a very shelly appearance, being 

 made in regular layers, whose edges are as distinct as those of 

 the oyster-shell, but which have a double and not a single curve. 

 In shape it is somewhat oval, but the base is necessarily flat, on 

 account of its attachment to the rock. 



