Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1875-09-15
Birds, Nests as Food.

most part in the Southern Archipelago.
The chief region of supply is that compris-
mo Java BOrneO, Celebes, and the Sulu |
Islands. The bird which produces the
nests is little swallow. Hirundo esculenta.
This salangan swallow, rs it is called, is |
slightly bigger than a blue tit it has a
brown back but the under surface of its
body, as also the extremities of the feath-
ers in its forked tail. are white. 1t flies
with wonderful speed and precision; and
on the Javan coast, where the surge breaks
wildly against the precipitous and cavern
ed walls of rock. the little birds may be
seen in swarms darting hither and thither
through the spray. They probably feed
on fragments of molusks and other small
animals which abound on those coasts AS
you watch the surface of the water rising
and falling, you notice how the holes in
the rocks are now concealed, now open
again; and the little creatures, watching
their opportunity, dart in and out with
lightning speed. Their nests are fixed to
the arched roofs of these caverns
What sort of a thing, then. is the edible
birds nest that ministers to the taste of the
luxurious Chinese ? 1t is that portion of
the fabric which serves as sort Of brack-
ct on which the nest itself (made of grass,
seaweed tibres, small leaves, ETC. is built
There are two forms of this support, one
fiat like an oyster shell, the other deep
and spoon shaped. 1t is transparent
mass. somewhat like isinglass, mother-of-
pearl, or white horn, and is of animal ORR
gin. 1t was formerly supposed that this
gelatine-like mass might be prepared in
the birds crop from sea-weed and other
marine plants. This, however, is a mis-
take. If one opens the animals stomach
about the time Of building. it is found to
contain insects, but no vegetable matter
moreover, in all species of the family of
switts, the cropis wanting. DIR. Bernstein
has found that at that season the salivary
glands under the tongue are enormously
developed On opening the bill they are
seen rs two large swellings, one on either
side. and these chiefly supply the material
in question. They secrete a viscid mucous
substance like 4 concentrated solution OF
gum arabic, which can be drawn out of
the mouth in long threads; and in the air
it soon dries. and is found to be the same
(even microscopically) as the bracket ma-
teral. Blades of grass and similar objects
can be stuck together with this saliva
and there is Il species of salangan (sup-
posed. but enormously, to feed on sea
weed) which does not make n pedcel OF
bracket on which to build its nest, but
merely sticks together. by means of its s.-
Iva, some grass, dry leaves. and sca-weed
and fixes them directly to the rock. The
nests of this species, however, are not of
great commercial importance.
The salangan swallows breed four times
in the year, each time building Il fresh
nest. The nests are plucked three times
and thus only one brood is left to the
birds. There is no perceptible diminution
however. of their number, which is pretty
accurately known, as the nests are count
ed and two birds are reckoned to each
The five caverns at karang Bollong. il
Java. thus contain 33O, 900 swallows. from
| which about 500. 900 nests are annually Ia
ken. The plucking takes place always a
the time of " ripenes>;' that is. when tn,
ma lority Of the nests contain Dung tina
are just beginning to be tledged. Whe1
they are fully tledged, the nests have be
come colored and useless. All the youn!
birds and eggs found are cruelly thrown
into the sea The best " harvest is in tn,
month, of July and August; the next best
in November and December; the worst
in April and My. The collected nest
packed in bags of bamboo fibre or palm
bast, and the merchants again pack then
for the market CATER Il second assortment
in cases containing Il half picu, OF sevent
pounds.
hina is the only considerable recipicn
Of these cases; the few eases which AZ
brought t> Il curiosity to Europe and Amer
lea are hardly worth mention. The grca
/ 81,
;on, the entire import there being reckon
ed at 200 plru ;, or l6S 900 pounds
We may reckon on fifty nests to the pound
40 that altogether 800. 900 nests, or, from
: three plucking>, the products of $500. 90
pairs OF blr',s, are annually introduces
into China. There are, principally. tw
kinds of nests distinguished in Canton
the mandarin nests and the ordinary
i the former. or perfectly white kind, ar
sold ut three to four thousand dollars pc
picul. which is double their weight in Ill
yer. Each pound thus costs in Chin
twenty to thirty dollars. 4 quite cNorbitan
price compared with that which the salan
gan FUCKERS themselves receive for thei
dangerous work, and which is, at tn
most, only ten to twelve per cent of tn
market value. The second quality q
nests are sold at sixteen hundred to TWEEN
ty-eight hundred dollars. There is Il SINAI
trade done in the kind of nest built by tn
! so-c;,lled STRENGTHENING salangan. refer
>, red to above; these are sold at two hun
dred dollars the picul. The nests are dir
{ solved in water or BROTH and so taken a
soup. 1t is highly spiced with minor sub
/ stances. This forms an entree which i
rarely wanting on the tables of the wealth
Chinese and never from that of the i'm no
rial court at Pekin. The Chinese set
high value upon it. considering it one O
the best stimulants; but for this Opinion
there seems to be little or no ground. Tn
most recent analysis of the nests we ow
to Professor Troschel, of Bonn. He find
that the material does not consist of spec
tally nourishing or stimulating substances
: hut is quite similar in constitution to an
animal saliva. The Chinese pay dear
for what has really no intrinsic value.