Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1832-08-21

while the inhabitants Of Madagascar are said to
| prefer them to the finest fish. But what
must we say Of the Cochin Chinese. who esteem
rotten eggs as one of the greatest decacies, and
far do they carry this desire, that putrid eggs
are rated thirty per cent higher than good ones
This taste, however, need not excite so much
surprise when we recollect that the higher classes
in this country prefer putrid 10 fresh came, and
would not taste il until it acquired the fashionable
govt IL is standing joke against the French,
that they dress and eat frogs. and yet, have
Frenchmen who we're partial TO those reptiles
| scken when they saw rock or crow pies in Scot.
land.
A story is told of British sailor who could
swallow and digest clasp penknives, some
times pouring half dozen iuto his stomach at a
time; and by which freak he ultimately killed
himself. Perhaps it will be considered nearly as
strange. when | mention, that the Chinese gen
try are passionaeiy fond of birds nests: the re-
al nests Of birds of the swallow species This
fancy for BIRDS nests obtains all over China, but
can be followed up only by the very weathlest
classes Such is the extraordinary demand for
this description Of food that its cost is enormous;
and to say in China that man eats BIRDS nests,
is equivalent to saving that he is grandee, or
person of great opulence. The nests which are
thus in such repute are not formed of clay,
like those Of our swallows, but are made of a
substance resembling isinglass in appearance,
which'is understood by some to he gathered by
the animal from certain marine matter Mr..
Crawford, in his valuable work on the Eastern
Archipelago. presents US with some interesting
details relative to these nests, worthy Of notice.
The BIRDS nests (says he) are those obtain
ed in deep damp caves, and such as are taken be-
fore the birds have laid their eggs. The coarsest
are those obtained after the Young have been
hedged. The finest nests are the whitest, that
is, those taken before the nest has been rendered
impure bv the food and faces Of the young birds
They are taken twice a year. and if regularly
collected, and no usual injury be offered to the
caverns. it will produce. very equally, the same
quantity; being very little, if at all, improved
6v the caves being left altogether uomoIested for
a year or two. Sum. Of the cav sns are extreme
iv difficult of access, and ii,e nests can only DC
collected by persons accustomed from their
youths to the Office Ia one place the caves are
only to be approached BY perpendicular descent
of many hundred feet. BY ladders of bamboo and
rattan, over a sea rolling viplently against the
rocks. When the mouth of the cavern is attain
ed, the perllous Office of taking the nests must
often be- performed with torch light, by pene-
trating into recesses of the rock, where the
slightest trip would be fatal to the adventures,
who see nothing below them but the turbulent
SURF making its way into the chaslns Of the rock.
"1he only preparation the birds nests under
90 is that of simple drying. without direct expo
sure to the sun. after which they are packed in
small boxes They are assorted for the Chinese
market into three kinds, according to their quail
tiles. The common prices for birds nests at
Canton are, for the first sort, no less than S. 500
Spanish dollars the picuI. .or, 2j is I'D per
g.. al, > i.h dali
picul, aud for the third, 1000 Spanish dollars.
From these prices 1t is slifi ,enly evident that
the birds nests are no more than an article OF
expensive luxury They are consumed only by
the great; and, indeed, the best part Is sent to
the capital for the cunsum ppn of the court
The sensual Chinese use them undpr the imagl-
nation that they are powerfully stimulating and
tonic; but it is probable tleir most valuable
quality is, their being perfectly harmless. The
people OF Japan. who SD much resemble the Chi
nese i'm many of their habits, have no taste Tor
the edible nests; and how the latter acquired
taste for this foreign commodity, is no less sinsu-
lar than their perseverine In 1t. Among the
western nations there is nothing parallel to 1t.
unless we except the whimsical estimation IN
which the Romans held some articles OF luxury
remarkable fnr their scarcity. rather than Tor aay
qualities ascribeL to them. The;whOle quantity
Of bNs' nests exported from the Indian Arch''
peIaeo is estimated ar 242, 400 lbs, worth e234,-
200. The value of this property to the country
which produces it, rests upon the caprlclous
wants Of single people. 1t is claimed as the
exclusive property Of the sovereign, and every
where forms valuable branch Of his income, or
of tAe revenue of the state
There are no means etFicacous for increas.
inc the knowledge of facts as the reading OF news
naners. They not only supply facts, bnt By
presenting the arguments Of opposing counsel,
speakers On various sides in Parliament, at meet
ings, SC. t';ey sharpen the intellect and aecn,-
tom men to exercise their Judgment. OF a. the
means ever devised for extending knowleds" and
improving the mind, newspapers are BY tar the
most effective. Volney. who had men in all the
stages of civilization, in his Lectures on History
observes, "It is necessary to have lived IN conn
tries where the press does not exist to conceive
all the effects Of its priva'ion-to imagine the
confusion thrown into recitals, the absurd hear
saws. the uncertainty in opinions, the obstacles
n instruction, the ignorance in the minds OF all,