Abstract
THE nature of the material from which the edible bird's-nest s formed has been long the subject of controversy. It is very gratifying to find from Mr. Layard's letter, published in last week's NATURE (p. 82), that a reconciliation of the various views is possible. Most writers support the theory that the substance is secreted in some way by the bird, though they differ as to the manner. Sir E. Horne, in a paper published in the Phil. Trans., 1817, suggests certain gastric glands as the active ones. Bernstein, forty years later, points to the prominence in the nestbuilding season of certain salivary glands which form cushions by the sides of the bird's tongue, and suggests that these secrete the material. On the other hand, there are advocates of the view that the nest is constructed of certain vegetable matter found by the birds in the caves where the nests are built, and agglutinated by them by a buccal or salivary secretion.
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
GREEN, J. The Edible Bird's-Nest. Nature 31, 126 (1884). https://doi.org/10.1038/031126b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/031126b0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.