At night I went to Mr Bartram’s seat.
April the 13th. I employed this day in several observations relative to Botany.
Two nests of wasps hung in a high maple-tree, over a brook. Their form was wholly the same with that of our wasp-nests, but they exceeded them in size. Each nest was ten inches in diameter; in each nest were three cakes, above one another, of which the lowermost was the biggest, and the two uppermost decreased in proportion: there were some eggs of wasps in them. The diameter of the lowest cake was about six inches, and one quarter, and that of the uppermost, three inches, and three quarters. The cells in which the eggs or the young ones were deposited were hexagonal, and the colour of the nest grey. I was told, that the wasps make this kind of nests out of the grey splints, which stick to old pales and walls. A dark brown bee, with black antennæ, and two black rings on the belly, and purple wings, flew about the trees, and might perhaps be an inhabitant of these nests. [[138]]
Another kind of wasps, which are larger than these, make their nests quite open. It consists merely of one cake, which has no covering, and is made of the boughs of trees. The cells are horizontal, and when the eggs or the young larvæ ly in them, they have lids or coverings, that the rain may not come into them. But whither the old wasps retreat during storms, is a mystery to me, except they creep into the crevices of rocks. That side of the cake which is uppermost is covered with some oily particles, so that the rain cannot penetrate. The cells are hexagonal, from five to seven lines deep, and two lines in diameter. Mr. Bartram observed, that these nests are built of two sorts of materials, viz. the splints which are found upon old pales, or fences, and which the wind separates from them; for the wasps have often been observed to sit on such old wood, and to gnaw away these splints; the sides and the lid or cover of the cells are made of an animal substance, or glutinous matter, thrown up by the wasps, or prepared in their mouths; for when this substance is thrown into the fire, it does not burn, but is only singed, like hair or horn. But the bottom of the nest being put into the fire, burns like linen [[139]]or half-rotten wood, and leaves a smell of burnt wood. The wasps, whose nests I have now described, have three elevated black shining points on the forehead[28], and a pentagonal black spot on the thorax. Towards the end of autumn these wasps creep into the cavities of mountains, where they ly torpid during winter. In spring, when the sun begins to operate, they come out during day-time, but return towards night, when it grows cold. I saw them early in spring during sunshine, in and about some cavities in the mountains. I was told of another species of wasps, which make their nests under ground.
Gyrinus natator (Americanus), or the Whirl-beetles. These were found dancing in great numbers on the surface of the waters.
April the 14th. This morning I went down to Chester: in several places on the road are saw-mills, but those which I saw to-day had no more than one saw. I likewise [[140]]perceived that the woods and forests of these parts had been very roughly treated. It is customary here, when they erect saw-mills, wind-mills, or iron works, to lead the water a good way lower, in case the ground near a fall in the river is not convenient for building upon.
April the 16th. This morning I returned to Raccoon. This country has several kinds of swallows, viz. such as live in barns, in chimneys, and under ground; there are likewise martens.
The Barn Swallows, or House Swallows are those with a furcated tail. They are Linnæus’s Hirundo rustica. I found them in all the parts of North America which I travelled over. They correspond very nearly to the European House Swallow in regard to their colour, however there seems to be a small difference in the note. I took no notice this year when they arrived: but the following year, 1750, I observed them for the first time on the 10th of April (new style); the next day in the morning, I saw great numbers of them sitting on posts and planks, and they were as wet as if they had been just come out of the sea[29]. They [[141]]build their nests in houses, and under the roofs on the outside; I likewise found their [[142]]nests built on mountains and rocks whose top projected beyond the bottom; they [[143]]build too under the corners of perpendicular rocks; and this shews where the [[144]]Swallows made their nests, before the Europeans settled and built houses here; for it is well known that the huts of the Indians could not serve the purpose of the Swallows. A very creditable lady and her children told me the following story, assuring me that they were eye-witnesses to it: A couple of Swallows built their nest in the stable belonging to the lady; the female [[145]]Swallow sat upon the nest, laid eggs in it, and was about to brood them; some days after, the people saw the female still sitting on the eggs: but the male flying about the nest and sometimes settling on a nail, was heard to utter a very plaintive note, which betrayed his uneasiness: on a nearer examination the female was found dead in the nest, and the people flung her away. The [[146]]male then went to sit upon the eggs, but after being about two hours on them, and thinking the business too troublesome for him, he went out, and returned in the afternoon with another female, which sat upon the eggs, and afterwards fed the young ones, till they were able to provide for themselves. The people differed here in their opinions about the abode of Swallows in winter: most of the Swedes thought that they lay at the bottom of the sea; some, with the English and the French in Canada, thought that they migrate to the southward in autumn, and return in spring. I have likewise been credibly informed in Albany, that they have been found sleeping in deep holes and clefts of rocks, during winter.
The Chimney Swallows are the second species, and they derive their name from building their nests in chimneys, which are not made use of in summer: sometimes when the fire is not very great, they do not mind the smoke, and remain in the chimney. I did not see them this year till late in May, but in the ensuing year, 1750, they arrived on the 3d of May, for they appear much later than the other Swallows. It is remarkable that each feather in their tail ends in a stiff sharp point, like the end of an awl; they apply the tail to the side of [[147]]the wall in the chimneys, hold themselves with their feet, and the stiff tail serves to keep them up: they make a great thundering noise all the day long, by flying up and down in the chimneys; and as they build their nests in chimneys only; and it is well known that the Indians have not so much as a hearth made of masonry, much less a chimney, but make their fires on the ground in their huts, it is an obvious question, Where did these Swallows build their nests before the Europeans came, and made houses with chimneys? It is probable that they formerly made them in great hollow trees; This opinion was adopted by Mr. Bartram, and many others here, Catesby has described the Chimney Swallow and figured it[30], and Dr. Linnæus calls it Hirundo Pelasgia.
The Ground Swallows or Sand Martins, (Linnæus’s Hirundo riparia) are to be met with every where in America; they make their nests in the ground on the steep shores of rivers and lakes.