ANAS. 



indeed, drop short, and perform that of- 

 fice by the way, for they are known to 

 breed in some of the Hebrides, the Ork- 

 ney, Shetland, and other solitary isles ; but 

 these are hardly worth notice -. the great 

 bodies of them are met with in the large 

 rivers and lakes near Hudson's Bay, and 

 those of Kampschatka, Lapland, and Ice- 

 land. They are said to return to the lat- 

 ter place in flocks of about a hundred 

 at a "time in the spring, and also to pour 

 in upon that island from the north, in 

 nearly tiie same manner, on their way 

 southward, in the autumn. The young 

 which are bred there remain throughout 

 the first year; and in August, when they 

 are in moult, and unable to fly, the na- 

 tives, taking advantage of this, kill them 

 with clubs, shoot, and hunt them down 

 with dogs, by which they are easily 

 caught. The flesh is highly esteemed by 

 them as a delicious food, as are also the 

 eggs, which are gathered in the spring. 

 The Icelanders, Kamschatclales, and other 

 natives of the northern world, dress their 

 skins with the down on, sew them toge- 

 ther, and make them into garments of 

 various kinds : the northern American In- 

 dians do the same, and sometimes weave 

 the down as barbers weave the cauls for 

 wigs, and then manufacture it into orna- 

 menuil dresses for the women of rank, 

 while the larger feathers are formed into 

 caps and plumes, to decorate the heads of 

 their chicfsand warriors. They also gather 

 the feathers and down in large quantities, 

 and barter or sell them to the inhabitants 

 of more civilized nations. Much has been 

 said of the singing- of the swan, in ancient 

 times, and many beautiful and poetical de- 

 scriptions have been given of its dying 

 song. No fiction of natural history, no 

 fable of antiquity, was ever more celebrat- 

 ed, often repeated, or better received; 

 it occupiedthe soft and lively imagination 

 of the Greeks ; poets, orators, and even 

 philosophers, adopted it as a truth too 

 pleasing to be doubted. The dull insipid 

 truth, however, is very different from such 

 amiable and affecting fables ; forthe voice 

 of the swan, singly, is shrill, piercing, and 

 harsh, not unlike the sound of a clarionet 

 when blown by a novice in music. It is, 

 nevertheless, asserted by those who have 

 heard the united and varied voices of a 

 numerous assemblage of them, that they 

 produce a more harmonious effect, parti- 

 cularly when softened by the murmur of 

 the waters. At the setting in of frosty 

 weather, the wild swans are said to asso- 

 ciate in prodigious multitudes, and, thus 

 united, to use ever}' effort to prevent the 



waterfrom free/ing: this they accomplish 

 by the continual stir kept up amongst 

 them ; and by constantly dashing it with 

 their extended wings, they are enabled 

 to remain as long as it suits their conveni- 

 ence, in some favourite part of a lake or 

 river which abounds with their food. The 

 swan is very properly entitled the peace- 

 ful monarch of the lake : conscious of his 

 superior strength, he fears no enemy, nor 

 suffers any bird, however powerful, to mo- 

 lest him ; neither does he prey upon any 

 one. His vigorous wingis as ashield against 

 the attacks even of the eagle,and the blows 

 from it are said to be so powerful as to 

 stun or kill the fiercest of his foes. The 

 wolf or the fox may surprise him in the 

 dark, but their efforts are vain in the day. 

 His food consists of the grasses and weeds, 

 and the seeds and roots of plants which 

 grow on the margins of the water, and of 

 the myriads of insects which skim over, 

 or float on its surface ; also occasionally of 

 the slimy inhabitants within its bosom . 

 The female makes her nest of the wither- 

 ed leaves and stalks of reeds and rushes, 

 and lays commonly six or seven thick- 

 shelled white eggs : she is said to sit upon 

 them six weeks before they are hatched. 

 Both male and female are very attentive 

 to their young, and will suffer no enemy 

 to approach them. 



Anas olor, or mute swan. The plu- 

 mage of this species is of the same snowy 

 whiteness as that of the wild swan, and 

 the bird is covered next the body with the 

 same kind of fine close down ; but it 

 greatly exceeds the wild swan in size, 

 weighing about twenty-five pounds, and 

 measuringmore in the length of the body 

 and extent of the wings. This also dif- 

 fers, in being furnished with a projecting, 

 callous, black, tubercle, or knob, on the 

 base of the upper mandible, and in the 

 colour of the bill, which in this is red, 

 with black edges and tip ; the naked skin 

 between the bill and the eyes is also of 

 the latter colour : in the wild swan this 

 bare space is yellow. The swan, although 

 possessed of the power to rule, yet mo- 

 lests none of the other water-birds, and is 

 singularly social and attentive to those of 

 his own family, which he protects from 

 every insult. While they are employed 

 with the cares of the young brood, it is 

 not safe to approach near them, for they 

 will fly upon any stranger, whom they 

 often beat to the ground by repeated 

 blows ; and they have been known by a 

 stroke of the wing to break a man's leg. 

 But,however powerful they are withtheii 

 wings, yet a slight blow on the head will 



