CHIMNEY SWALLOW. 
433 
difficulty get up it. But then it was observed that their place of 
nocturnal retirement was in another quarter of the town. “ On 
the whole,” continues Mr. Churchman, “ I am of opinion, that 
those who continue to roost at the court-house are male birds, 
or such as are not engaged in the business of incubation, as that 
operation is going on in almost every unoccupied chimney in 
town. It is reasonable to suppose if they made use of that at the 
court-house for this purpose, at least some of their nests would 
appear towards the top, as we find such is the case where but 
few nests are in a place.” 
In a subsequent letter Mr. Churchman writes as follows: — 
After the young brood produced in the different chimneys in 
Easton had taken wing, and a week or ten days previous to 
their total disappearance, they entirely forsook the court house 
chimney, and rendezvoused in accumulated numbei's in the 
southernmost chimney of John Ross’s mansion, situated perhaps 
one hundred feet northeastward of the court house. In this last 
retreat I several times counted more than two hundred go in of 
an evening, when I could not perceive a single bird enter the 
court-house chimney. I was much diverted one evening on 
seeing a cat, which came upon the roof of the house, and placed 
herself near the chimney, where she strove to arrest the birds 
as they entered, without success; she at length ascended to the 
chimney top and took her station, and the birds descended in 
gyrations without seeming to regard grimalkin, who made fre- 
quent attempts to grab them. I was pleased to see that they all 
escaped her fangs. About the first week in the ninth month [Sep- 
tember] the birds quite disappeared; since which I have not ob- 
served a single individual. Though I was not so fortunate as to 
be present at their general assembly and council when they con- 
cluded to take their departure, nor did I see them commence 
their flight; yet I am fully persuaded that none of them remain 
in any of our chimneys here. I have had access to Ross’s chim- 
ney where they last resorted, and could see the lights out from 
bottom to top, without the least vestige or appearance of any 
birds. Mary Ross also informed me, that they have had their 
VOL. II. — 3 I 
