“There are likewise swallow caverns in the island of Bantam, and in Sumatra; but the inhabitants of the former are so indolent, and the government so detestable, that they are not even at the trouble to sow rice, nor do they cultivate any one article which contributes to human existence. The Chinese have never attempted to penetrate into the interior of this kingdom, and they have no commerce whatever with the mountaineers; indeed they have very little intercourse even with the coast.
“The Javanese and Europeans established in India eat even the birds themselves when young, but it is difficult to procure them; they are considered as a very luscious food. The nests, on the contrary, when stewed as a soup, and afterwards exposed to the dew, and sweetened with sugar, are said to be highly cooling, and the Javanese administer them successfully in violent fevers. The author of this memoir has had occasion to observe that, prepared in the manner which will be subsequently mentioned, they have been useful in disorders of the throat, and in hoarseness. Most probably this remedy has been borrowed from the Chinese, who (according to information furnished to the author by a man who was in the habit of dealing largely in these nests) use them most generally in the winter, because disorders of the throat are very common at that season in the southern regions of the empire, on account of the habits the Chinese are in of indulging themselves over the fire.
“But though the author has repeatedly eat these nests, prepared in various ways, he has not been able to bring himself to put much faith in the very nutritive and strengthening property attributed to them. He has had them analyzed by good chemists, but the result has been only a gummy solution, of rather a disagreeable taste, which might, however, be of service in certain disorders of the chest.
“These nests are, in fact, only articles of luxury or ornament on the tables of the rich. The Chinese are passionately fond of them: after well soaking and cleaning them, they are put with a fat capon or a duck into an earthen pot, closely covered; they are simmered for twenty-four hours over a small fire, which is called timmen; thus prepared, this eatable acquires a relish infinitely more rich, and a more nourishing quality.
“The trade in these nests, which some years ago was of little importance, has been greatly on the increase for some time. The price is constantly rising in China, and Batavia is the principal market for them. The company having abandoned it, the inhabitants derive sufficient advantage from it to diminish the exportation of specie, which is highly prejudicial. It is now very well ascertained that the species of swallow which builds these nests is not to be found in China.
“Linnæus, in his Systeme Naturel, characterizes this swallow, which he calls the hirundo esculenta, by white spots only on the feathers of the tail. But those birds of Java, which construct the nests in question, have no spots either on their tail or elsewhere. The feathers of the tail are entirely of one colour, that is, grey, approaching to black on the upper, and a lighter grey on the under surface.
“Rumph says, in speaking of these apodes marinæ, that the feathers of their tail are spotted, and that the breast has black and white spots.
“Valentyn in his description of the small swallow which builds the eatable nests, says nothing of spots, and only states that the body is veined white and black.
“If these differences are allowed to be essential, it will follow that there must be two kinds of these swallows, the one with a spotted breast, and having white spots on the tail, the other without either. It is possible, even, that there may be a third variety, that called momos, or bocrongitams. These likewise form their nests of part of their food; but mixed with so much impure matter that no use can be made of them. Care is taken, therefore, to drive them away, that they may not injure the nests of the better species. They are readily known from these latter by their superior size, and their legs being provided with small feathers down to the feet.
“In the kingdom of Tonquin, and in China, there is a great demand for these nests of the salanganes. They form their most exquisite food, and they attribute to them the property of strengthening the stomach, and of being a powerful aphrodisiac. They are preserved for the tables of the King, and those of the principal nobles who are able to procure them. They are diluted, made into gravy or soup, and mixed with all sorts of choice aliment, and every kind of taste is imputed to them.