get there the greater part of them had
gone down. They continued to go
down at intervals until 11 3/4 minutes
past 8 when none went down until
16 minutes past 8 when a single
bird passed in and this was the
last one that I saw. The last ones
that went in would pass a number
of times over the top of the chimney
each time nearly dropping in but
hesitating as though they thought
the chimney was too full to hold
another one. Nearly all the time
[delete]the ones[/delete] those already in the chimney
kept up a [delete]continual[/delete] chattering
which although I was 50 yards
from the house I could distinctly
hear & this they kept up untill
21 minutes past 8 & [delete]I do not know[/delete]
for aught I know much later
for as I could no longer see the hands
of my watch I left. Many of them
must have come from a great distance
as this town does not seem to have
more than its share of resident 
birds of this species
August 7th 1866.
  This evening I saw the swallows again
go down. At 6.30 swallows were flying
over the town here & there but they did
not begin to collect round the chimney until
nearly 7. At 6.59 the first one went
and they continued to increase until 7.11 1/2
when [delete]all[/delete] only two or three were left. At 7.17 1/2
they were as numerous as ever but all
in the vicinity soon went down but they
kept comeing in until from 7.30 to 7.38
a vast flock of them was collected which
kept wheeling over & around the chimney now & then
a number of the birds composing it dropping
into the chimney until at 7.42 they
had nearly all gone down. The last that
I saw (two in number) went down together
at 7.55. The lage flock would sometimes
keep wheeling round in a comparitively