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by which the expert ej^e knows to which of the three 

 it belongs. This is painlessly scratched with a knife 

 on the upper lip of the beak. In the case of the Royal 

 birds it takes the form of a diamond; the Companies' 

 marks being respectively a downward curve on the 

 edge of both sides of the lip and one such curve with 

 four perpendicular lines alongside. The process of 

 swan-marking, or swan-upping as it is technically 

 termed, takes place towards the end of July, after the 

 breeding season is well over. The three Swan- 

 masters and their assistants proceed up or down the 

 river together, the former in special uniforms some- 

 what of a naval cut in blue with gold bands, and the 

 latter in sweaters of red (King's), blue and white 

 (Vintners'), and blue (Dyers') ; the C3^gnets are caught, 

 and after being tallied with the Masters' records, 

 marked in the way described. 



The breeding season in May lasts some three or 

 four weeks, during which time the male birds evince 

 a certain amount of pugnacity towards intruding 

 boating-parties, though it is rare for them to be the 

 aggressors when due regard is paid by users of the 

 river to the importance (from the swan's point of 

 view) of the occasion. The season is an anxious one, 

 and great care is taken of the mother birds on the 

 various nests by specially-appointed boatmen, who 

 receive a money grant for each cygnet successfully 

 hatched. The average number of young birds to a nest 

 is six — of which about three survive the vicissitudes 

 of early life — though occasionally they number as 

 many as eight, and this year there is an exceptional 

 nest of nine in the neighbourhood of Henley. Similar 

 care is taken of the birds throughout the year. The 



