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tTiat a neft, as long as it remains entire, is continually en- 

 lar^jcd or made thicker, until it is entirely defcrtcd by the 

 bird, when it lias become dry or hairy in tlic iulide. 

 When the nclb have bieii collcded, they require o:ily to be 

 dried and cleanfcd, and then they art packed in balkets and 

 foli to the Chiiiefe. Their price variei, and d^p^nds on 

 their whitcnefs and fintncfs. Some ol' thtni have a grey, 

 and others a rtddiili uppearancc : thole of tin; bell fort are 

 exceedingly fcarce. Tiuy are fold at t!ie rate of from 8oo 

 to 1400 rix-dollars per 125 pound'. This high price, aud 

 the infatiable avarice of the ChinelV, give rife to much diU 

 honclly and thieving, efpecially ai the Chijele make no 

 fcruple of bribing the watchmen v.ith money, opiiiin, and 

 clothc» ; nor can anyvigilance prevent this fram!. Calappa 

 Nongal and Sampri forintr'y belonged to t!ie Dutch Eall- 

 India company ; but, i.i 177S, the government refolved to 

 fell them by auction to the higheil bidder, and received for 

 them almoil ico.OOO rix dollars. Ikfidcs thefe, there are 

 feveral other plices of a like kind, though lefs important, in 

 the fame range of moimtains ; and there are alio two or 

 three in the high land, in the interior parts of the country, 

 and fevtial finall ones which are eaiefuUy concealed. 

 Three conliderable bird-mountains, Goa Daher, Cede, and 

 Nangafari, are fiUiated in the government of Saniaiang, in 

 Java ; and thtfe arc wafhed by the fea, which furirs its way 

 fo deep into the latter that hfii may be caught in it. In 

 thefe places the iielh are of an excellent quality ; but the 

 fteepnefs of the rocks, and the violence of the furf, render 

 it very dangerous to coUeiSl them ; and, therefore, a fuf- 

 pcnded apparatus of bamboos is employed for this purpofe. 

 The quantity of thffe nclls, coUecled annually in the iikind 

 of Java, amounts to 3500 pounds in weight. There are 

 alio bird caverns in Bantam, and tlie iflaiid of Sumatra, 

 in the Andaman and Nieobar iflandi, in the ifland of Bor- 

 neo, and alfo in Cochiu-China. The young birds are eaten 

 both by the Javantfe and the Europeans in India ; but it is 

 difficult to procure therr. They are cor.fidered as very 

 heating : but the uc'ls, on the other hand, when they have 

 been boiled to a C:my kind of foup, expofed in the night- 

 time to the dew, and mixed with lugar, are very cooling. 

 The Javanefe, therefore, ule them in viokrt fevers ; and 

 they are faid to be prcferibed with good fuceefs for fore 

 throats and hoarfenefs. This latter ule of them has pro- 

 bably been derived from the Chintfe, who carry on a great 

 trade by thefe nefts, ard eat many of them in the winter, 

 becaufe fore throats are then very common in the northern 

 part of the kingdom, in confeqncnce of the people ac- 

 cu.1omin.j thciTiftlves to fit very much over the tire. But 

 the author of the paper, from which thefe particulars arc 

 extracttd, was rot able to difcovcr this nourilliing and 

 ftre.igthe:;ing q;ia!ily tliat has been fo much extolled, though 

 he ufed 1 CQuiiderafJe number of thefe neitf, prepared in 

 T3ri"';i ways, in order to convince himfilt of the faft. He 

 canfed them to be examined by able cheinitls ; but nothing 

 more ct'uid be obUrved than that the lolution prcfented a 

 weak gum, with 3 difaiireeable tafte, which perhaps might 

 be of fo.ne ufe in flight indifpofitions of the breaO. 



Thefe nefls are, therefore, a mere article of luxury to 

 adorn the tables (.f the rich. The Chinefe are rcn^.srkably 

 fond of them. After being foaked and well eka: fed, they 

 put them, along with a f?it capon or a duck, into an earthen 

 pot clofely covcre !, and fuffcr them to boil for 24 hours 

 over a (\o\v fire, whic'.i they c.-U " timmeii ;"' and, on ac- 

 count of this addition, the whole difh acquires a more luf- 

 «ions tafte. The trade in thefe nefts has of late much in- 

 crcafcd. The high and advancii g price of tliem in China 

 makes Batavia the principal mart of this commoditv, which 

 is employed, Cnce the company have furrendertd' it, very 



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advantageoufly by tlic inhabitants, to lefTen the prejudidal 

 exportation of fpecie. 



The fpecies of fwallow that fornio thefe nefts is not to be 

 found in China. Linnaeus gives, as a diftinguifhing mark 

 of the iinirK/o efculcula, that it has white fpots only 011 the 

 feathers of the tail. But the linall bird^ in Java that con- 

 ftruft the nefts, have fpots neither on the tail nor on any 

 other place. The tail feathers are entirely of one colour, 

 blackilh grey above, and a little brighter below. Rumphius 

 fays of his capoJa imirlna, that the feathers of the tail were 

 fpotted, and that the bicait alfo was fpeckled black and 

 white. Valentin, in his dcfcription of the fmall fwallow 

 which couftruCls edib'e neiU,, mentions neither fpots nor 

 fpeckles ; and only fays, that the belly was undulated black, 

 and white. If thefe are to be coniidered as e!i"v:ntial differ- 

 ences, it will follow thai there are two kinds of thefe fwal- 

 lows : one with a fpeckled breaft, and white fpots on the 

 tail feathers ; and the other, without fpots or fpeckles. A 

 third kind of thefe fwallows would be thofe called " mo- 

 mos," or " boerongitams." Tlicfe alfo prepare their nells 

 of eatable fubllances ; bat on account of the number of 

 fmall feathers, and other impurities mij:ed with them, they 

 arc not fit to be ufed ; and people, therefore, endeavour, as 

 much as poffible, to exterminate them,, as they fpoil the 

 habitations of the better kinds. They are dilliuguifhed from 

 the others merely by being larger, and having their leg3 

 down to the feet covered with fmall feather,^. 



Birds, pclures of, prej>ared hy means of I heir otvn feathirs.. 

 For this purpofe, procure a thin board of deal or wainfcot, 

 well feafoned, that it may not warp. On this pafte white 

 paper, and let it dry : then get any bird which you would 

 wilh to reprefcnt, and draw its outline on the paper, in the 

 defired attitude, and in its natural fize, with the addition of 

 any lanJfcape or back-ground, 5:c. which you may think 

 bell. This outline fo drawn is afterwards to be filled up 

 with the feather* iVo.ii the bird, placing each feather in that 

 part of the drawing correfponding t*) the part of the bird 

 from which it was taken.. To do this, cover the outline re- 

 prefentation with feveral coats of llrcjng gum-water, allow- 

 ing it to dry between each coat, till it is of about the thick- 

 nefs of a fhilling. When the ground is thus prepared, take 

 the feathers off from the bird, beginning at the tail or points 

 of the wings, and work upwards towards the head. Thefe 

 feathers mull he prepared by clipping off all the downy part; 

 and the large feathers mult have the infides of their Ihafts 

 pared off, fo that they may lie flat. In laying tlicm oa, 

 hold them by a pair of fmall pliers, and, moillening the 

 gummed ground with water, place each feather in its na- 

 tural and proper fituation. Keep each feather down, by 

 placing upon it a fmall leaden weight, till you have another 

 ready to be laid on. Care mull be taken not to let the gum 

 pafs through the feathers, fo as to fmear them 01 to adhere 

 to the bottjm of the weight, and thus pull off or diforder 

 the pofitioti of the feathers;. When all the feathers are put 

 oil, cut a piece of loiind paper, and colour it to refemble 

 tlie eye of the biid, and then tliek it in its proper place ; but 

 the bed fubllitutions for this purix)f<: are fmaH eyes made of 

 glafs. The bill, legf, and feet, mull be drawn and coloured 

 from nature. When it is finifhcd a.id at'julled to your 

 mind, lay a (beet of piipcr npon it, and upon that a heavy 

 weight to piefs it down ; and after it has remained in that 

 polition til! it is quite dry, it may be preferved in a glaCs-fiame. 

 Birds, prejertint'ion of. Many methods have been ufed by 

 natarahlls for pi-eferving dead birds from corruption, in their 

 natiu-al form and colour.. Some have taken off the Ikin, 

 with all the featliers upon it, from the body and thighs, 

 leaving the tail, legs and wings, with the whole neck and 

 the bill, and filled it with fume foft ftuff, fueh as hay, 



wool. 



