Adescriptionofthenatureofthisimportantarticleofcommerce，andthemethodofpreparingit，mayproveofsomeinteresttomyreaders，andIcanfindnomoresuitableplacethanthisforintroducinganaccountofit。ThefollowingcomprehensivenoticeofthesubstanceistakenfromamodernhistoryofavoyagetotheSouthSeas。
“Itisthat_mollusca_fromtheIndianSeaswhichisknowntocommercebytheFrenchname_bouchedemer_anicemorselfromthesea。IfIamnotmuchmistaken，thecelebratedCuviercallsit_gasteropedapulmonifera_。ItisabundantlygatheredinthecoastsofthePacificislands，andgatheredespeciallyfortheChinesemarket，whereitcommandsagreatprice，perhapsasmuchastheirmuch-talked-ofediblebirds’nests，whichareproperlymadeupofthegelatinousmatterpickedupbyaspeciesofswallowfromthebodyofthesemolluscae。Theyhavenoshell，nolegs，noranyprominentpart，exceptan_absorbing_andan_excretory_，oppositeorgans；but，bytheirelasticwings，likecaterpillarsorworms，theycreepinshallowwaters，inwhich，whenlow，theycanbeseenbyakindofswallow，thesharpbillofwhich，insertedinthesoftanimal，drawsagummyandfilamentoussubstance，which，bydrying，canbewroughtintothesolidwallsoftheirnest。Hencethenameof_gasteropedapulmonifera_。
“Thismolluscaisoblong，andofdifferentsizes，fromthreetoeighteeninchesinlength；andIhaveseenafewthatwerenotlessthantwofeetlong。Theywerenearlyround，alittleflattishononeside，whichliesnexttothebottomofthesea；andtheyarefromonetoeightinchesthick。Theycrawlupintoshallowwateratparticularseasonsoftheyear，probablyforthepurposeofgendering，asweoftenfindtheminpairs。Itiswhenthesunhasthemostpoweronthewater，renderingittepid，thattheyapproachtheshore；andtheyoftengoupintoplacessoshallowthat，onthetide’sreceding，theyareleftdry，exposedtothebeatofthesun。Buttheydonotbringforththeiryounginshallowwater，asweneverseeanyoftheirprogeny，andfull-grownonesarealwaysobservedcominginfromdeepwater。Theyfeedprincipallyonthatclassofzoophyteswhichproducethecoral。
“The_bichedemer_isgenerallytakeninthreeorfourfeetofwater；afterwhichtheyarebroughtonshore，andsplitatoneendwithaknife，theincisionbeingoneinchormore，accordingtothesizeofthemollusca。Throughthisopeningtheentrailsareforcedoutbypressure，andtheyaremuchlikethoseofanyothersmalltenantofthedeep。Thearticleisthenwashed，andafterwardboiledtoacertaindegree，whichmustnotbetoomuchortoolittle。Theyarethenburiedinthegroundforfourhours，thenboiledagainforashorttime，afterwhichtheyaredried，eitherbythefireorthesun。Thosecuredbythesunareworththemost；butwhereonepicul1331/3lbs。canbecuredthatway，Icancurethirtypiculsbythefire。Whenonceproperlycured，theycanbekeptinadryplacefortwoorthreeyearswithoutanyrisk；buttheyshouldbeexaminedonceineveryfewmonths，sayfourtimesayear，toseeifanydampnessislikelytoaffectthem。
“TheChinese，asbeforestated，consider_bichedemer_averygreatluxury，believingthatitwonderfullystrengthensandnourishesthesystem，andrenewstheexhaustedsystemoftheimmoderatevoluptuary。ThefirstqualitycommandsahighpriceinCanton，beingworthninetydollarsapicul；thesecondquality，seventy-fivedollars；thethird，fiftydollars；thefourth，thirtydollars；thefifth，twentydollars；thesixth，twelvedollars；theseventh，eightdollars；andtheeighth，fourdollars；smallcargoes，however，willoftenbringmoreinManilla，Singapore，andBatavia。”