384 THE MUTE SWAN 



some time, so much the better, as they will the sooner become 

 tame, and contented with a small range which I am sup- 

 posing to be the thing required. The disadvantage of having 

 Cygnets to begin swan-keeping with, is, that they are less 

 ornamental till they have attained their perfect plumage, and 

 the proper orange-colour of the bill, and that they do not 

 breed till their third year. It is not, however generally 

 known that the male is capable of increasing his kind a year 

 earlier than the female ; so that a brood may be obtained 

 from an old Hen, and a Cock-bird in his second year. In se- 

 lecting a pair, the great thing is to make sure of having two 

 birds of opposite sexes. Two Cock-birds will not live together, 

 and their mutual aversion would soon show that all was not 

 right ; but two Hens will which is the case also with Pigeons. 

 A friend of mine procured a couple of Swans; they were 

 affectionate and happy in each other's society in due time 

 they made their nest and laid. Great were the expectations; 

 such a plenty of Eggs; both Swans assiduous in sitting rather 

 suspicious that the produce, addle-eggs. The two ladies 

 could not raise up a family between them. 



In selecting any Water-birds whose plumage is alike in both 

 sexes, and which cannot therefore be distinguished with cer- 

 tainty, the best rule is to see them in the water, and take that 

 which swims deepest for the female, and that which floats with 

 greatest buoyancy for the male, remembering that all creatures 

 of the masculine gender have the largest lungs in proportion 

 to their size. The neck of the Cock -bird is usually thicker. 

 An experienced eye will, besides, detect a certain feminine 

 gentleness and modesty in the one, and an alacrity and bold- 

 ness in the other, which is a tolerably safe guide, as well as an 

 appropriate and becoming attribute to the creatures themselves. 

 It is cheaper in the end to give a fair price for a pair of old, 

 well-seasoned birds to begin with, than to undergo the care, 

 the delay, and perhaps the disappointment of nursing Cygnets 



