218 ' HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS. 
planks; and robins, yellow birds, sparrows, and 
orioles are frequently seen bathing in ee same 
pool near by. It is amusing to see the’ swal- 
lows come and dip their straws in the water and 
then fly away to their nests. Some birds have 
sufficient saliva to moisten the gathered materials, 
but the barn swallows dip many of the sticks and 
straws in water before arranging them in the outer 
parts of their nests. The chimney swallows do not 
pick up the material for their houses, but snap the dry 
twigs from the trees. These swallows gather all their 
building materials on the wing, generally snapping the 
dry twigs from the branches of the locust tree. My at- 
tention was first called to this curious fact in the old 
cemetery on North Street, in company with Mr. 
Cowell. We were watching the aerial movements of 
these birds, when one of them apparently tried to light 
on the leafless top of a tree. She hovered a minute, 
balancing herself, then snapped a twig and flew away. 
In two or three minutes she returned in company with 
her mate, and during an hour that we watched them 
they repeated the operation a score or more of times. 
Sometimes they failed to break the stick at the first 
trial, and after a short circle in the air they renewed 
their efforts, always ending in success. Since then 
I have seen many pairs engaged in the same labor. 
From Geneseo, five or six miles up the river, brings 
one in sight of the beautiful village of Mount Morris. 
The flats here are about two miles wide, and the richest in 
the State. Although the French statesman Talleyrand 
