the legs and wings of the whole,
which at length extended itself to their whole bodies, and finally the
birds were enabled to run and fly about the room."[118]

Daines Barrington, the correspondent of Gilbert White and of Pennant,
was a firm believer in the winter sleep of Swallows with us. He
mentions, on the authority of Lord Belhaven, that numbers of Swallows
had been found in old dry walls and in sandhills near his lordship's
seat in East-Lothian; not once only, _but from year to year_, and that
when they were exposed to the warmth, they revived. He says, however, he
cannot determine the particular species.[119]

The same naturalist mentions many other instances in which they have
been reported to be found, but he cannot give his personal voucher for
the truth of the statements.

"As first in a decayed hollow tree, that was cut down near Dolgelly, in
Merionethshire; secondly, in a cliff near Whitby, in Yorkshire, where,
in digging out a fox, whole bushels of Swallows were found in a torpid
condition; thirdly, the Rev. Mr Conway, of Lychton, Flintshire, a few
years ago, between All Saints' and Christmas, on looking down an old
lead mine in that county, observed numbers of Swallows clinging to the
timbers of the shaft, seemingly asleep, and on flinging some gravel on
them they just moved, but never attempted to fly or to change their
place."[120]

In some communications to the _Zoologist_ for 1845, by the late Mr F.
Holme, of Oxford, I find the following statement:--"On the hybernation
of this species (the House-swallow) I was told many years since, by old
Wall, then keeper of the Kildare Street Museum, in Dublin, ... that
after a heavy snow, in the winter of 1825-26, on going into the
_mansarde_ to see whether the snow had melted through, he found four
Chimney-swallows perched close together on a cross-beam, with their
heads under their wings; but on approaching his hand to them they flew
off, and escaped into the open air."[121]

Again, Mr J. B. Ellman of Battel, says, "There is a farmer named Waters,
residing at Catsfield, (adjoining parish,) who informs me he has
frequently (some years ago) dug Swallows out of banks in winter, while
widening the ditches in the brooks," &c.[122]

It is unfortunate that most of these and similar discoveries were "some
years ago;" and that, instead of increasing in frequency with the
increase of scientific research and communication, they strangely become
more rare. The same r