hundred pifyuls, of which by. far the largest propor-tfoff is the-produce'of ihe
Javan rocksand hills. - Itis^ell-kno Wn, ■ that'these'-are tber nests of a «spe-
ciesof swallow (hirundo-eseulen-ta) icomm&n^in' the ■ Malayan islandsjugnd
in-jgreat demand -for- the -China- table. -TheitNwalue' 'aspa luxury; in *that
empire, has been- estimated on importation to be weight ifor: weight-equal
with‘silver... The priceiWhich -these--nests of :.4e :-best;qua'Bty^dvS ,-ofkl'ate
years brought-iru, the Canton and- Amoi- market, /hasihe'en rforty- Spanish
dollars per; kali, of rather morefihan a pound'and a -quarterjEnglish. Ip They
are usually, classed into • first,- second, . and third' sorts, . differing.' inteprice
from forty to fifteen Spanish dollars, and even todem and ■. less. for:,the aaest
ordinary. Theiprice.-imfthe Batavian market - rises..-as'/tbeiperiodribri the
■departure of th&.junks approaches ; .but as the principal.producei’ofi Jaya
•is -still a monopoly id thediands of -government, i itdsi’diffiGnlt -tdifi-x-dhe-price
at which, they anights be sold under-- other circumstances.: 'Generally; hpeak-
,ing,. however,* they sell throughout the Eastern* Islands considerably flower
than they are calculated to dorin^'China, '„which' may- be- accountedisfprsby
Jheiperishable -nature.of the commodity, and the igreafeeate"-. necessary-to
-preserve,them from the damp, asuwell asr from: breakage; -On thiswicconnt,
.they„are-seldom baughtby-European traders. ii*Birdsdne'sfe«e^nsigned'%
•the Javan -government to the>Cantoni factory- in 181% sold -tefthehampuht
.ofiaboutrfifty pikuls, at an average Tate of about twenty dpllarshper. hath: tfbut
this was atm. period when the China marketS;Were umisuallydow'.
- ^-.The .quantity. y of bird’s nests ; obtained „from 1 the^rocksircafted Krariang
bolang, on the southern coast of Java,.and^within thedprovinGes^
native princes,' is,, estimated,rode year .with .another,: at. admpadtedsi^fe,
and iscalculated „to :afford an annual rievenhe. to -- the goverpm^dti&#few®
hundred thousand' Spanish - dollars. .The^quantityTig^thexedmb^S^l'lxy
individuals,t-on-.rocks and.hills beiongingdo;them,' either in.-pi^afe-pB^erfy
or held by-dam from the - government, i n . other, parts ,df|%eidsland,umay
amount . to ffity.p iku ls; making '.the j-extenK-of -this /exportdmot - l e s s e n
dundfeHi andl^tyqjg/Aa&j-^besides -the. amount iofthe,rcoTl
the other, islands :6£ Ahe Archipelago,.
. . In the.Malayan islands in general, .but -little- care is taken-.of. thej rqcks
and cayerns .which produee.this dainty,' and the nests. prOcu^d <arei; ^either
sorirumerous -nor so good as „they otherwise would be. On Java, where
pgrbaps fte; birds are fewe?/and the nests in general less .fine thandhqsefto
b£ xpet with in Some of the more Eastern Islands, ' both the-quantity
• and
and quali'by-KhaVeï'b.eenï considerably 1 improved,i»by r European management.
To'.-efiefcferthis improvement,wthe-caverns which--'the birds are found to
frequents a£é-.-cleansed ibyi »smoking’ and the-burning ofi sulphur, 'and the
destruGt-ioh:!oftal'l'8.the-.old nests.' T h ecavèrnris'then-carefnlly.-sécured from
the approach^ ©Jï maflt/s.themhirds are, left undisturbed to, form their nests,'
and1 thetgathering takess:placé;as SQonïasritjis calculated-that the'young are
fledged. Tf. theyJares;.allowed ' to j-remaim until eggs are again-laid in themj
the^lh^e\1^êif^u.’5fi3Colö!nr:and (transparency,-: and are no longer of. What are:
termed theripst -sort.' (jTheyaret spmetimes-.collé'cted ^recently; after, theirr’
formation-,'i^fchatóMrnéj has notitbeeh giyem for,the -birds to-lay-or hatch'her
eggs in(lfhem?ïanö'sthes?pnests,:are>i'chnsidefèd'as the most ■ superior; bufas
theqipsïaetic&j'ïif-carried' tOvany extent,'-'would prevenh-dharhumberkof the
birdss&om increasing,1 it^s,'seldqih<res®nted!*to^W’fe^®|he<caverns arerin the
possessión.of^kóM'whpAav.eTaipermahéntanterestMn!' their: produce.’ r Much
ofi th'ëir;'éxcellenc'ef2and>$peculiaT.--prop’ertiesT-?however,-,depepd;on the situationvöi(
ttó:^laee^ih which? they are iflajOTted^It has oftenl,been “ascertained/
for.rinktance, that the 'sameJibirdrforms • a ‘.nestdofk somelwhatd different Jqua-
lity^hcGording-l ari itPoonstructs fit in;-tb&_ deep^recessesiof: an unventilated
anddamjrcavern/i oriattachesiiti to a-place where thé atmosphere is^dryy and
the* niriicirbulatfesi ®eely.s'ff>The/nature- 'off the--different^ substances: also'.to
wMefe*'tb?ey£ are- -fiased^' seëms/todhave r some^iftfluence - -öiw^hfej® properties.-
Tb&fbe'sti are.'pcoGtirtedtin-- the, deepest caverns? (the favourite ,’retreat ofi. the
hirdé)5ë^h®ét adnitrous f dampness- cohtinuaHyhprevarLs# and- -wHeretrbemg
formed agffnstrlhe isiffesdff :the cavern,^they ‘imbibe a mtrous'Wteri without
whiöh'they.''areilittlêtesteemed:iby.'tlie Chinese, u2The principal: óbject ofiffhe
piföptïètor bfif a birds’t-nesb! ^óckf js .-,to j pres.eryer-sufficient numbers,; q£ the
swallows, by'-’not gathering uthe nests 4toón often,or abstracting those of
the^ëner -tótid^in'rftoo''great 'numbers',' lést the birds.should; quit their- habitations’
- and - emigrate to* a ' more sëcure'-and finacce^siMe,' retreat, ^-jlfi’fe.'not
unusti&lnfcSra European/Iwhien .h^Jtakes a: roek undef’his superinjbenidènce;
afterèiddiUg it ‘ofötbe oldf.nestsjariifcfumigating theL*cay,&r-ns,to;allow the
birdshö":rëm'ain undisturh'ed,^>twoirthree,' ^ortèven- more 'years, in order that
tKéyS-may multiply thr'hisifuture advantaged ; iWh,endauhirdé’-nest- rock is
oncé*b'roüg.ht into proper order,r it^ilkihpa-r 'tiwo^ gatherings in the- year:
ibises the; case swithi-the rocks under- the care, ‘of ' the officers of -government
at Ktiirarig Imlang.
In