T}IK NWANS.* 



THE >n IE SWAN.f 



Pre-eminent for grace and elegance among the varied order of swinnning-birds are thu 

 Swans. The one known in our island, and the adjacent parts of the Continent, is alike 

 conspicuous for the beauty of its form and the elegance of its attitudes. As we observe 

 it gliding over its congenial element, wo are disposed to exclaim with Wordsworth: — 



•■ Bi'liold ! the iimntliTi'^ b^jirit of icscrvo 

 l-ashiuiis liis lurk into a ynodh- curve. 

 All areli thrown bat-k lictwecn luxuriant wiii^s 

 Of wliitc'st garniture, like lir-trco bougli.s, 

 'I'o which, on sonio uniufflccl morning clings 

 A (lu'ky wcijjht of Winter's purest snows!'' 



This noble bird is known only to us in a state more or less completely domesticated. 

 The nest, consisting of a large mass of reeds, rushes, and other coarse herbage, is found 

 on the ground near tlie edge of the Wjiter, and an island is generally cliosen rather than 

 a bank. The female produces six or^ seven eggs; these are of a dull grecnisli-whito ; 

 thej- are four inches in length, and rather more than Iwo inches in breadth. 



" Living on the banks of the Thames," says Mr. Jesse, " I have oiten been pleased 

 with seeing the care taken of the young swans by the parent birds. Where the stream 

 is strong, the old swan will sink herself sufficiently low to bring her back on a level witVi 

 the watei', when the cygnets will get upon it, and in this manner are conveyed to the 

 other side of the river, or into stiller water. Each family of swans on the river has its 

 own district ; and if the limits of that district are encroached upon by other swans, a 

 pursuit immediately takes place, and the intruders are driven away. Except in this 

 instance, tliey appear to live in a state of the most perfect harmonj-. The male is very 

 attentive to the female, assists in making the nest, and when a sudden rise of the river 

 takes place, joins her with great assiduity in raising the nest sutKciei?tly high to prevent 

 the eggs being chilled by the action of the water, thougli sometimes its rise is so rapid 

 that the whole nest is washed away and destroyed." 



g In the time of Edward IV. no one was permitted to keep swans who did not 

 possess a freehold of at least live marks yearly ^alue, with the exception of the 

 king's son ; and by an act of Henry VII., persons convicted of taking their eggs were 

 liable to a year's imprisonment, and a fine at the will of tlie sovereign. For ages, 

 the Corporation of the City of Ijoudon were accustomed annually t<j visit the swans on 

 the Thames — a practice commonly called "swan-/<o/jping." This name is a corruption 

 of the phraseology in use of " swan-«7^ping," denoting the duties of the official visitors, 

 which was to " take up " the swans that they might bo marked. In proof of their 

 estimation in former times, a rare and valuable quarto tract, jDrinted in 1070, mentions 

 the " vjjpiiiff daics " — declares what persons shall " i(p no swannes " — and speaks of a 

 court no longer generally known — "The King's ^lajesties Justices of Sessions of Swans." 



The swan-markers proceed to the different parts of the river frequented by the swans 

 for breeding, and other places where the birds are kept. They pay half-a-crown for 

 each young bird to the fishermen who have made nests for the old birds, and two 

 shillings per week to any person who, during the winter, has taken care of the swans by 

 sheltering them in ponds, or otherwise protecting them from the severity of the weather. 



■ Cygnus. t Cygiuis Olor. 



2 N 14 



