SWANS 229 



way, the attendant should have at the start all the assistance he 

 is likely to require. A blow from a swan's wing may injure a 

 man very seriously. It is said that such a blow has been known 

 to break a man's thigh. 



The young are gray when hatched and do not become entirely 

 white until two years old. Even then many of them are not ab- 

 solutely white, but show very distinct traces of reddish-yellow, 

 especially on the head and upper part of the neck. There is 

 a story that a young swan of a deep buff color was hatched at 

 Lewes in England. 



If the swans with young must be fed, the usual practice is to 

 throw the food upon the water. Stale bread, grain, and even 

 meal are given in this way. It looks like a wasteful way of 

 feeding, but the birds will get all the food. 



Swanneries are unknown in America. In England a few of 

 those established many centuries ago still remain. The largest 

 and most celebrated of these is at Abbotsbury. Swans have 

 been bred here continuously for about eight hundred years. 



