Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1852-07-09
BuHLINeToN, (Vr.) June Is, 1852.

Editors Of tie Traveller Objects which are
interesting to the curious and puzzling to the
knowing ones, are coming to the light, almost
every day, in various parts of the country. Of
this class are the contents of wbot is technical
o ly called a .StcdllOW Tree, which have recently
. been discovered in Middlebury in this State
AT the time the first settlements were made in
% the western parts of Vermont, these swallow
" trees were quite common here, and several of
e them are described by Dr. Williams in his his
d tory of the State They were usually very
large ems, or sycarnores, having extensive hol-
lows within and an opening in the side, at a
considerable height from the ground at which
~, the swallows entered and made their egress.-
Early each spring, and about sunrise in the
n morning, myriads Of swallows were seen to is
70 sue from the holes IN these trees and disperse
% themselves over the country and, in the dusk
y OF the evening, they were observed to return
" again to their common roosting places in the
hollows of the trees. Thus they continued to
disperse themselves in the morning and collect
II together again in the evening. till they COM
= menced pairing and rearing their young in the
spring, and the same phenomena were also OBJ
= served again Just before the final disappear
ance of the swallows in the fall, and for long
time the opinion Er.vailed that they passed the
winter in these trees in 4 torpid state But it
e to particular trees, in early times, and to par
tcuar old chlmneys in modern, as common
II roostlng places, Is only a temporary arrange
ment attending their arrival in spring and their
= migration southwark in autumn.
Y These swallow trees, which were SO COM
Is mon in early times, had, probably many of
them, heen resorted to by thousands Of birds,
e year after year, for centuries. The natural
consequence would be, forthe cavities in which
they roasted, TO become gradually filled up
i with eXcrement cast off feathers, eXuvia of in
~ sects and rotten wood, and, accordingly. trees
IS have been found in this condition long after the
swallows had ceased to resort to them. One
Of this kind, in Ohio, is described in Harris
Journal, and quoted in Wilson's Orntloogv
The tree was hollow sycamore, five feet IN
diameter, and had been blown down. Its i'm
mense hollow was found to be filed, for the
space Of fifteen feet, with "a mass Of decayed
feathers, with a small admXture of brownlSh
dust and the cXuNia of various insects
The tree recently found in Aiiddebury re-
scmbcd, in most respects, the one above men
toned. The tree had blown down, and had
afterwards, nearly all rotted away, leaving lit
tie remaining, excepting the teahcty mass
winch had filled It's hollow, ana which was now
bcdded in leaves and moss. The tree was
probably. an elm, and, Judging from the size o
tic cylindrical mass OF the contents, the diam.
IT, e,er Of its hollow must have been about fifteen
IN inches, which he'd been filled some six or sever
or feet. OF the materials which had filled it
about one-half consists Of feathers, being, to
the most part, the wing and the tail feathers o
ss the chimney swallows, (CBpseius peia&giys
Tem) The other half is made up OF the eXu
via Of insects, mostly the fragments and egg.
Of the large wood ant. and brownsh dust
,h,1,1
interior of the tree.
Now, while the discovery at Middlebuy IS
on many accounts, an interesting one there
would be nothing very remarkable i'll it, werC
the materials winch had filled the hollow of tho
- tree utnhlcd promiscuously and dIsorlcry to-
gcther. 1t would be Just what we should CX
pcct to find III u hollow tree, which had bccl
ior centuries, perhaps, the rooatiug place o
myrads of swallows. But this is not the case
As general thing, the large feathers have
their qullls pointing outward ut the surface 0
ID the cylindrical mass, while the plumcs. or end
M containing the vanes, point inward. Tins ar
a. rangement might perhaps arise from the nest
nd ing OF small qladrupeds in the hollow, maxim.
y the feathers their bed. But III addition to this
we find in various portions OF the mass. il
'' some cases all the primary feathers oithc win.
and in other cases all the feathers of tine tail
GlIpNuh'N III l'It iidc', y M III Chulutl, an
precisely in the order and position in who
they are found in the living swallow. In a mas
Of the materials, measuring not more than
inches by and less than 3 inches thick
could trace, at least, ) wings and tails, and
one Of the wings The secondary quilts were a
plainly arranged IN their true position Wit
- regard to the PRIMARIES. Now II IS not posS
bic to conceive that these feathers were she
by living birds in the order in which they ar
found. But if the birds died there what ha
become of their beaks, claws and bones? W
should think that these, or portions of then
would be as durable as the feathers; but d
not learn that a particle Of any of these hl
been found in any part Of the mass, IIo
tn II have these been removed, willie the win
and tail feathers remain in their true natur
- position: 1t could hardly be done by any Vi,
lent means without disturbing them. But
done quietly, what did it: " ould any nscc
deyour the bones and not the quills: Does Il
formic, or any other acid which might be gel
Grated within the hollow of the tree, decou
p. pose bone:
r. shall not attempt to explain the phcnom
~ non. | have endeavored to state the facts.
they were kindly furnished me by my friend
\. Jnmcson, Tutor in our University, who vi.
y. ted the locality in May; and, as ascertained |
myself from a careful examination of a cunsi
. crable mass of the materials, which were pr
cured by hlm and presented to the UnlversI
, Museum for preservation and shall leave it
i. others to account for them.
Y TtI0MpSnN