338 ANATID^. 



the first proprietor of the well-known inn, the Swan with 

 Two Necks, was a member of the Yintners' Company. 



No. 16 was the Royal swan-mark which had been used 

 from the reign of George the Third to August 1878, when 

 the three lower diamonds were discontinued. 



The following, taken from ' The Field,' August 9th, 1884, 

 gives the result of the last Swan-upping on the Thames : — 

 ** The Queen's swanherd and the officials of the Vintners' 

 and Dyers' Companies of the City of London have just 

 concluded their annual excursion upon the Thames for the 

 purpose of marking or ' nicking ' the Swans and Cj^gnets in 

 the upper reaches of the river betAveen Southwark Bridge 

 and Henley. There were 40 Swans and 2 Cygnets between 

 London and Ditton, 39 Swans and 12 Cygnets between Ditton 

 and Staines, 65 Swans and 25 Cygnets between Staines and 

 Bray, and 123 Swans and 24 Cygnets between Bray and 

 Henley. The total number of Swans was 267 and Cygnets 

 63. Of these the Queen claims 176 Swans and 46 Cygnets; 

 the Vintners' Company, 48 Swans and 12 Cygnets ; and the 

 Dyers' Company, 43 Swans and 5 Cygnets. The number 

 of the ' inland ' birds — those which have strayed up the 

 tributaries of the Thames — has yet to be ascertained." 



In the language of swanherds, the male Swan is called a 

 Cob, the female a Pen : these terms refer to the comparative 

 size and grade of the two sexes; the young, during their 

 first year, are called Cygnets ; during the second, Grey- 

 birds ; afterwards, their plumage being perfect, White Swans. 

 The black tubercle at the base of the beak is called the 

 berry, and a Swan without any mark on the beak is said to 

 be clear-billed. 



For a reference to the various statutes, laws, orders, &c., 

 on Swans and swan-marks, see the article Swan, written by 

 Mr. Serjeant Manning, in the Penny Cyclopaedia, from 

 which the Author has made some short extracts. 



