WHISTLING SWAN. 13 



force while all his quill-feathers are perfect, the re- 

 sistance of the air against such a surface being too 

 great to allow of its moving with sufficient velocity to 

 inflict any sensible pain." 



Swans are very active, and in Iceland they are an 

 object of chase. In the month of August they lose 

 their feathers to such a degree as to be incapable of 

 flying. The natives, at that season, resort in great 

 numbers to the places where they most abound, and 

 are accompanied with dogs, and active, strong horses, 

 trained to the sport, and capable of passing nimbly 

 over the boggy soil and marshes i the greater number 

 of the birds are caught by the dogs, which are taught 

 to seize them by the neck, a mode of attack that 

 causes them to lose their balance, and become an 

 easy prey. "\\ hen in full plumage, Swans are so ex- 

 tremely swift on the wing as to make them more 

 difficult to shoot than almost any other birds ; it 

 being frequently necessary to aim ten or a dozen feet 

 before their beaks : when flying before the wind in a 

 brisk gale, they are said to proceed at a rate of nearly 

 a hundred miles an hour ! but when flying across 

 the wind or against it, they are not able to make any 

 great progress. 



These birds are highly useful to man, their flesh 

 and eggs being greatly esteemed by the natives of 

 the northern regions of Asia and America : their 

 skins are also prepared with the down on, sewn to- 

 gether, and made into various garments : the down 

 is also preserved; and forms an article of commerce 

 which is in great demand in this and various other 

 European countries. 



