BARN SWALLOW. 
131 
“ Five or six of these birds were taken about the latter end 
of August, 1784, in a bat fowling-net at night. They were 
put separately into small cages, and fed with Nightingale’s 
food : in about a week or ten days, they took food of them- 
selves ; they were then put all together into a deep cage, four 
feet long, with gravel at the bottom ; a broad shallow pan, 
with water, was placed in it, in which they sometimes washed 
themselves, and seemed much strengthened by it. One day 
Mr Pearson observed that they went into the water with 
unusual eagerness, hurrying in and out again repeatedly with 
such swiftness as if they had been suddenly seized with a 
frenzy. Being anxious to see the result, he left them to 
themselves about half an hour, and, going to the cage again, 
found them all huddled together in a corner, apparently dead ; 
the cage was then placed at a proper distance from the fire, 
when only two of them recovered, and were as healthy as 
before : the rest died. The two remaining ones were allowed 
to wash themselves occasionally for a short time only ; but 
their feet soon after became swelled and inflamed, which Mr 
Pearson attributed to their perching, and they died about 
Christmas. Thus the first year’s experiment was in some 
measure lost. Not discouraged by the failure of this, Mr 
Pearson determined to make a second trial the succeeding 
year, from a strong desire of being convinced of the truth of 
their going into a state of torpidity. Accordingly, the next 
season, having taken some more birds, he put them into the 
cage, and in every respect pursued the same methods as with 
the last ; but, to guard their feet from the bad effects of the 
damp and cold, he covered the perches with flannel, and had 
the pleasure to observe, that the birds throve extremely well ; 
they sang their song during the winter, and, soon after 
Christmas, began to moult, which they got through without 
any difficulty, and lived three or four years, regularly moulting 
every year at the usual time. On the renewal of their 
feathers, it appeared that their tails were forked exactly the 
same as in those birds which return hither in the spring, and 
