3®4 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Dec.  r,  i8q2. 
gornery  Island,  and  scramble  half-way  up  a cliff,  then 
slide  down  a long  slope  of  sandstone  to  the  mouth 
of  a cave.  The  water  is  waist  deep,  and  the  opening 
small,  so  look  out  if  there  is  any  surf  on,  as  over 
the  rough  ground,  if  one  trips,  the  consequences 
would  be  unpleasant.  Once  inside,  the  cave  is  found 
to  be  large  and  lofty,  and  the  birds,  knowing  our 
errand,  fly  about  wildly  dashing  themseves  against 
the  torches  and  in  our  faces,  and  chattering  in 
v/liat,  if  translated,  would  doubtless  prove  to  be  very 
bad  language. 
The  trident  is  slid  up  the  wall,  and  the  nests, 
one  by  one,  are  carefully  detached  and  put  into  the 
linen  bags,  where  they  must  be  neither  crushed  nor 
soiled,  and  on  no  account  wetted  with  salt  water. 
The  yield  from  this  cave  is  always  a good  one,  and 
the  nests  are  large  and  white.  About  four  hours 
suffice  to  collect  them  all,  and  then  we  return  to  the 
“ Boss  ” and  pack  them  in  the  chest. 
Leaving  Port  Campbell  next  day  we  steam  up  to 
Spike  Island,  cross  through  Homfray  Strait  to  Strait 
Island  on  the  east  coast,  35  miles  north  of  Port 
Blair,  and  anchor.  There  are  some  small  caves  here 
which  are  stripped  of  their  nests,  and  the  next  day 
is  spent  at  the  South  Button  Island. 
This  is  of  volcanic  origin,  and  full  of  fissures, 
which  suit  the  birds  admirably.  It  is  only  a few 
hundred  feet  across,  and  rises  from  deep  water  to  a 
height  of  60  feet.  One  can  touch  the  cliffs  from  the 
deck  of  the  “Ross,’' and  looking  down  into  the  clear 
blue  water,  see  the  brilliantly-coloured  coral  fish  in 
thousands.  This  island  is  second  in  importance  of  all 
our  stopping  places,  and  a whole  day  is  taken  up  in 
making  the  collection,  which  is  usually  of  the  first 
quality. 
And  now  for  the  last  and  most  important  place, 
“Mtsopong,”  at  the  north  end  of  Stewart’s  Sound,  84 
miles  from  Port  Blair.  All  up  the  east  coast  of 
the  Middle  Andaman  the  scenry  has  been  fine,  as 
the  hills  which  form  the  backbone  of  the  islands 
rise  to  about  1,600  feet.  Stewart’s  Sound  itself  is 
composed  of  mangrove  swamps  and  low  islands,  but 
5 miles  to  the  south  is  a hill  1,500  feet  high,  and 
10  miles  to  the  north  are  the  twin  peaks  of  Saddle 
Hill  2,400  feet  high.  I know  no  lovelier  view  in  the 
islands  than  Stewart’s  Sound  at  sunset,  best  seen  as 
one  leaves  it  by  the  southern  entrance.  We  anchor 
in  a little  sandy  bay  “ Chaka-mat-koito,”  (the 
village  of  jack-fruits,)  and  then  have  a three  miles 
walkthrough  the  jungle  to  a limestone  hill.  In  this 
are  the  caves,  and  it  takes  us  two  whole  days  to 
ollect  the  nests.  These  caves  are  quite  dark,  and 
snakes,  lizards,  and  bats  live  in  them.  How  they 
were  discovered  so  far  from  the  see  I cannot  say, 
but  probably  the  flight  of  the  birds  was  watched. 
The  Andamanese  take  no  interest  in  the  subject,  and 
of  course  could  not  communicate  with  the  first  col- 
lectors, who  were  probably  Malays.  These  people 
would  watch  everywhere  during  the  day  season  for 
the  Swifts,  and  whenever  a flock  was  seen  would 
search  in  the  neighbourhood  till  their  building-place 
was  found.  Doubtless  many  caves  exist  in  these 
islands,  of  which  as  yef  we  are  ignorant. 
The  andaman  Islands  have  been  known  for  a long 
time  to  the  Malays  who  have  been  accustomed  to 
come  here  for  trepang,  birds’  nests,  and  slaves.  So 
far  back  as  1600  the  Andamanese  were  kidnapped 
as  slaves  by  Arab  and  Malay  traders,  which  fully 
accounts  for  their  subsequent  hostility  to  all  comers. 
The  Malays  have  maps  of  the  islands,  and  namos 
for  all  parts  of  them  ; indeed  the  word  Andaman  is 
supposed  to  be  of  Malay  origin,  they  looking  on  the 
Andamanese  as  the  Hanoumans,  (as  they  pronounce 
it,  Handoumans,)  or  monkey  gods  of  the  Ramayana. 
’On  arrival  in  Port  Blair,  the  nests  have  to  be  cleaned 
and  packed  which  must  be  done  very  carefully 
so  as  not  to  break,  cr  soil  them  ; all  dirt  and  feathers 
being  removed,  Thoy  are  then  wrapped  one  on  the 
other,  and  tied  with  twine  till  a circular  bundle  like 
a wheel  is  formed,  weighing  about  41b. 
The  price  of  these  nests  varies.  First  class  nests 
should  be  worth  their  weight  in  silver  or  about  Rs.  145 
per  viss,  but  rarely  fetch  more  than  Rs.  130  per  viss 
■;  pj  io  oz.)  Second  class  nests  are  worth  Rs.  100 
— Rs.  110  per  viss;  and  third  class  nests  about  Rs.  75 
per  viss.  One  collection  is  worth  about  Rs.  1,400. 
The  refuse  from  the  cleaning  is  sold  at  Rs.  5 — Rs. — 7-8 
per  seer.  The  birds  are  now  left  alone  to  build  for 
themselves,  which  they  do  hurriedly,  hatch  out  their 
young,  and  are  off  " somewhere,"  with  the  first  of 
the  S.  W.  monsoon.  These  nests  last  built  are  small, 
discoloured  with  dirt,  and  often  with  spots  of  blood 
as  if  the  bird  was  exhausted,  and  would  be  of  very 
little  value  if  taken. 
Like  isinglass,  once  thought  so  highly  of,  they  are 
of  no  nutritious  or  tonic  value.  Their  composition  is 
unknown,  but  it  is  generally  supposed  to  be  a gelatin- 
ous secretion  from  the  salivary  glands  of  the  birds. 
I will  conclude  with  a recipe  for  “ Potage  au  nid 
d'hirondelle.” 
For  each  nest  allow  one  tea-cupful  of  chicken  broth. 
Soak  the  nest  for  two  hours  in  cold  water,  pull  it 
apart  and  then  drain,  and  boil  in  the  chicken  broth 
for  ten  minutes,  until  the  nest  is  entirely  dissolved. 
Season  to  taste,  and  serve. — Journal  of  the  Photographic 
Society  of  India. 
♦ 
Tea  Pkcners. — The  importance  of  really  good 
cutlery  for  use  on  tea  plantations  cannot  be  over- 
estimated. Messrs.  George  Wostenholme  and  Sod, 
L’mited,  of  Washington  Works,  Sheffield,  who 
have  given  special  attention  to  this  fcranoh  of  their 
industry,  are  manufacturing  excellent  tea  pruners, 
the  strength,  durability,  and  finish  of  which  are 
of  the  first  order.  The  pruners  are  hand  mado 
and  of  the  best  crueib'e  steel,  matters  of  consider- 
able importance.— If.  and  C.  Mail,  Oct.  14. 
Tree  Tomatoes  for  Steamers. — In  converse 
with  Mr.  Nock  at  Peradenija  the  subject  of  treo 
tomatoes  was  broached  ; and  with  reference  to  the 
statement  published  by  a resident  at  Nuwara  Eliya 
that  if  a remunerative  demand  existed  he  could 
supply  the  fruits  in  hundredweights,  Mr.  Nock  said 
they  ought  to  be  in  demand  (or  passenger  steamers. 
In  his  own  case  when  proceeding  to  Britain  he 
took  a quantity  on  board  which  were  much  ap- 
preciated, eaten  ripe  as  gooseberries  are  eaten. 
They  lasted  quite  good  as  far  as  Malta,  and 
Mr.  Nock  has  no  doubt  that  they  would 
keep  good  for  a whole  voyage.  We  hope 
this  statement  will  lead  to  experiments  re- 
sulting in  a large  and  steady  demand  for  a 
fruit  whioh  is  excellent  for  dessert,  cooking  and 
jelly,  is  easily  and  plentifully  grown  on  cur  hills, 
up,  as  we  have  indicated,  to  Nuwara  Eliya,  where 
on  a recent  visit  we  saw  plants  put  down  as  a shelter 
for  a cabbage  garden. 
Blmbay  and  Cevlon  Mangoes. — Though  the 
mat-goes  of  Bombay  are  highly  prized  by  the 
epicure,  they  are  not  equal  to  those  of  Ceylon. 
Around  the  former  place  they  grow  iu  profusion, 
several  varieties  are  raised,  among  which  are  the 
small  round,  the  laige  round,  the  long  cylindrical, 
the  sweet  and  delicate,  and  the  coarse  fibrous 
mango.  The  fruits  of  the  B mbay  mango  ar9  of 
a peculiar  pink  and  yellow  colour,  snd  are  retailed 
at  very  high  rates.  The  tree  is  large  with  a 
spreading  habit,  the  leaves  hs.ve  a swtet  resinous 
smell,  and  the  fruit  in  shape  resembles  a short 
thick  cucumber.  The  ripe  fruit  is  very  perishable, 
and  when  it  begins  to  decay  is  very  offensive. 
Like  the  apple,  the  number  of  varieties  raised  from 
the  seed  are  very  great.  So  highly  are  some  of 
the  best  trees  prized  in  India,  that  they  are  care- 
fully guarded  night  and  day  through  the  fruiting 
Beason.  [The  above  from  the  “Hoitioultural  Times” 
takes  us  by  surprise.  That  the  grafted  and  highly 
cultivated  Bombay  mangoes  should  be  inferior  to 
those  of  Cejlon,  which  are  but  rarely  grafted  and 
still  mote  rarely  cultivated,  is  flattering  to  Ceylon, 
but  Eurely  it  is  a horticultuial  heresy  ? — Ed.  T.A.\ 
