273 



CYGNIN^E. 



CYMINUM. 



274 



Swan above noticed should not be forgotten in assigning these 

 northern localities to our Tame Swan, and very probably was not by 

 the skilful ornithologists who have noted these localities. Tem- 

 minck says, " Habite en dtat sauvage les grandes mers de I'inte'rieur, 

 surtout vers les contre"es orientales de 1'Europe." 



In the Thames, at present, the greatest number of swans belongs to 

 the Queen, and the companies of vintners and dyers own the next 

 largest proportion ; but the birds are far less numerous than they used 

 to be. The swan-marks are made upon the upper mandible with a 

 knife or other sharp instrument. The swan-hopping or upping, that 

 is, the catching and taking up the swans to mark the cygnets, and 

 renew that on the old birds if obliterated, in the presence of the 

 royal swanherd's man, is still continued bv the companies above 

 mentioned. Below is the royal swan-mark used in the three last 

 reigns and the present, from the cut given by Mr. Yarrell, in whose 

 interesting ' British Birds ' much curious information on this subject, 

 together with no less than sixteen swan-marks, will be found. 



)eooo) 



Royal Swan-mark. Yarrelt. 



Sir John Richardson (' Fauna Boreali-Americana ') records only two 

 American swans, C, Buccinator and C'. Bewickii. The Prince of 

 Canino, in his 'Specchio Comparative,' gave one, Anas Cygnita 

 (meaning, apparently, the Hooper). Nuttall notices three : 1st, the 

 Wild or Whistling Swan, C. fent* of Ray ; 2nd, the Trumpeter Swan, 

 C. Buccinator ; and 3rd, C. Beirickil. The Prince, in his 'Birds of 

 Europe and America,' records two species, C. Americama, Sharpl. 

 (C. muticut, Bonap.), and C. Buccinator; but he does not record 

 C. Bewickii as an American species. Nuttall declares that in the 

 winter of 1810 he saw two individuals of C.ferut (C. muticiu, Bechst. 

 and Bonap.) in a state of domestication near St. Louis (Missouri), 

 which were obtained, with several others at the same time, in conse- 

 quence of the extreme cold. The Prince of Canino evidently 

 considers his C. muiicus, which he gives as a synonym of C. Ameri- 

 camtt, a different species from C. Btujickii, which last stands opposite 

 to C. A mcrican w* in the European column. 



C. Buccinator. According to Sir John Richardson, it is the most 

 common swan in the Fur Countries, and to which the bulk of the 

 swan-skins imported by the Hudson's Bay Company belong. 



Colour white, the forehead alone tinged with reddish-orange ; bill, 

 cere, and legs, entirely black. Bill nearly resembling that of C. ferns 

 in form, though longer and rather more depressed. Wings : third 

 quill the longest. Tail consisting of 24 feathers. A specimen in the 

 Zoological Musum has the crown and cheeks bright chestnut. Total 

 length TO inches. (Richardson.) 



It breeds as far south as the 61st degree of latitude, but principally 

 within the arctic circle, and in its migrations it generally precedes 

 the geese. Sir John Richardson observes that C. Bewickii makes its 

 appearance amongst the latest of the migratory birds ; while 

 C. Buccinator is the earliest, with the exception of the eagles. He 

 states that a fold of its windpipe enters a protuberance on the dorsal 

 or interior aspect of the sternum at its upper part, which is wanting 

 both in V. feriu and C. Bewickii ; in other respect*, he adds, the 

 windpipe is distributed through the sternum nearly as in the latter 

 of these species. In the ' Supplement ' to Sir Edward Parry's ' First 

 Voyage,' Anat Cyynns, Wild Swan, with references which leave no 

 doubt that the Hooper was meant, is noted as breeding on the North 

 Georgian Islands ; but C. Bfioickii had not then been distinguished. 



C. atratvt (Genus Chenopa, Wagl.), the Black Swan. This bird, 

 the Anat Plutonia of Shaw, has now become so common in our 

 menageries, where it breeds freely, as not to justify the occupation 

 of space with more than a cut of its head, and of the course of its 

 trachea, which is not unlike that of the Mute Swan. 



Head of Black Swan (Cygnm a/mint). 



It is all black, except the primary, and a few of the secondary 

 quills, which are white. Bill bright red above, and sometimes with 

 SAT. HIST. DIV. VOL. II. 



a slight turbercle at the base, which the female wants. The anterior 

 part of the upper mandible is crossed by a whitish band, and the 

 under one is grayish-white. Legs and feet dull ash-colour. Size less 

 than that of the Mute Swan and Hooper. Irides red. Young, when 

 about a fortnight old, covered with dusky-gray down above, lighter 

 beneath ; bill, eyes, and feet, dusky-black. 



Mr. Yarrell observes that the structure of the trachea is inter- 

 mediate between that of the Hooper and the common Mute Swan. 

 " It quits the neck at the bottom, and descends to the centre circular 

 portion of the furcula, to which bone it is firmly bound by a tough 

 membrane : the remaining portion then rises over the front of the 

 breast-bone between the clavicles, and passes backwards to the lungs, 

 the last portion of the tube immediately preceding the bone of 

 divarication being flattened horizontally. The form of the trachea 

 in our common swan, in which it follows the neck without deviation, 

 being remembered, and Dr. Latham's figure of the wild swan referred 

 to, it will be observed that the black swan exhibits an interesting 

 link between the two." (' Linn. Trans.' vol. xv.) 



Sternum and trachea of Black Swan (Oifgntis atrfilns}. Yarrell. 



It is found in Van Diemen's Land, New South Wales, and the west 

 coast of Australia. 



In a state of nature the Black Swans are generally seen floating on 

 some lake in flocks of eight or nine. When disturbed, they generally 

 fly off in line or single file ; and are so shy, that it is difficult to get 

 within gunshot. Their note is far from harsh, at least when uttered 

 in captivity. 



CYGNUS. [CYGNKf*.] 



CYMBA. [ACALKPH^.] 



CYMBULA. [THECOSOMATA.] 



CYME, an irregular kind of panicle, having a corymbose appear- 

 ance, and in which each branch is stopped in its growth after 

 producing a single flower, when it is forced to form lateral branches, 

 which are themselves stopped after forming one flower. The 

 common Laurmtima or the Elder-Bush offers examples of this sort 

 of inflorescence. 



CY'MINUM, or CUMINUM, a genus of Plants belonging to the 

 natural order Umbelliferct. C. Cyminum, Cumin, is a plant of annual 

 duration, found wild in Egypt and Syria, and cultivated from time 

 immemorial for the sake of its agreeable aromatic fruit, which, liks 



Cyan/turn Cymiiittjii. 



1, a young fruit, with the calyx still adhering; 2, a ripe fruit; 3, a trans- 

 verse section of the latter, showing the ridges, the vita?, and the commissure. 



that of Caraway, Dill, Anise, &c., possesses well-marked stimulating 

 and carminative properties. Cumin grows about a foot high, and is 

 very little branched ; it is smooth near the ground, but slightly downy 

 near the end of its branches. Its leaves are deeply cut into long 

 capillary segments. The partial and general involucres consist of 



T 



