504 
SWALLOW. 
thin and nearly concentric layers of a soft slimy 
substance : the inside somewhat resembles coarse 
net-work, the threads being drawn from the same 
substance with the outer layers, and much inter- 
woven. It has puzzled several naturalists to find 
out of what this nest is composed, and different 
persons have given different opinions : it has been 
supposed to consist of sea-worms, of the sea qualm, 
a sort of cuttle-fish, or of a glutinous sea plant 
called agal-agal : however it matters little, as the 
knowledge of its component parts has nothing to 
do with its flavour, and that, it seems, is what the 
Chinese look to in the choice of their nests. The 
best sort, which are perfectly white and clean, are 
either dissolved in broth to improve its relish, or 
softened in water, and pulled to pieces, after which 
they are mixed with ginseng, and put into the 
body of a fowl. This is stewed in water all night, 
and eaten as a luxury the next day. 
About twenty-five pounds weight of these nests 
sell in China from a thousand to fifteen hundred 
dollars ; those which are black and dirty, however, 
are not worth more than twenty dollars. The ex- 
portation from Batavia of this article is so great, 
that we are told the Dutch send twenty-five thou- 
sand pounds weight every year to China. We 
shall subjoin part of the letter which M. Poivre 
sent to the Count de Buffon on this subject, and 
likewise Sir George Staunton’s interesting descrip- 
tion of this bird and its nest. The former gentle- 
man embarked in July 1741, in the ship Mars, 
