The edible swallows' nests are found in most of the islands of the Eastern archipelago.
A traveler, Mr. H. Pryer, who made a visit to one of the swifts' caves in Borneo, thus describes the coming and the going of the dusky birds:
"At a quarter past six in the evening the swifts began to return to the caves of their nests; a few had been flying in and out all day long, but now they began to pour in, at first in tens and then in hundreds, until the sound of their wings was like a strong gale of wind whistling through the rigging of a ship.
"They continued flying until after midnight. As long as it remained light I found it impossible to catch any with my butterfly net, but after dark I found it only necessary to wave my net to secure as many as I wanted.
"They must possess wonderful powers of sight to fly about in the dark of the recesses of their caves and to return to their nests, which are often built in places where no light penetrates."
The edible nests are a luxury in China, where they are used in soups. The bird makes her nest of saliva, and plasters it on to the rocks inside of caves. The nests are collected by means of boats, ropes, and ladders, and bring in the Chinese market from £2 to £7 per pound. There have been imported to Canton more than eight million nests in a single year.
Such are some views of life inside of the vast possession of the sea which Magellan discovered for Spain, but which has fallen under the folds of the flag of the Republic of the West.
THE END.