THE MUTE SWAN.] 



SHOOTING, 



[the mute swan. 



between sweetness of numbers and melody of 

 voice, imagined that to be real which was only 

 intended figuratively. Our own Shakspeare is 

 called the" Swan of Avon." The Mute or Tame 

 Swan never frequents the Padus ; " and I am 

 almost equally certain" says Mr. Pennant, "that 

 it never was seen on the Cayster, in Lydia ; each 

 of these streams being celebrated by the poets 

 for the great resort of swans. The Padus was 

 styled Oloriferus, from the numbers of these 

 birds which frequented its waters ; and there 

 are few of the poets, either Greek or Latin, 

 who do not make them its inhabitants." 



THE SWAN GOOSE. 



This is the Anas Cynoides of Linnaeus, and 

 la another interesting species of the web- 

 footed family. In point of size, it stands 

 between that of the common duck and the 

 swan ; whilst its length is fully a yard. It is 

 known from the goose by its stately carriage, 

 and by its having a large knob at the root of 

 the upper mandible, and a skin almost bare of 

 feathers, hanging down under the throat. A 

 white line extends from the corners of the 

 mouth over the front of the brow. The hue of j 

 the bill is orange, and the irides of a reddish 

 brown. A dark brown or black stripe runs 

 down the hinder part of the neck, from the 

 head to the back. The fore part of the neck 

 and the breast are yellowish brown ; and the 

 back, and all the upper parts, brownish grey, 

 fringed with a light colour. The legs are 

 orange. 



Some writers maintain that these birds were 

 originally natives of Guinea, in Africa. They 

 are now, however, very common everywhere, 

 being widely and numerously dispersed, both 

 in a wild and domestic state. They are found 

 in great numbers about Baikal, an eastern 

 section of Siberia, and likewise in Kamtschatka; 

 and are kept in a state of domestication in 

 most of the Euasian provinces. 



THE MUTE SWAN. 

 The plumage of the Anas Cygnus Mansuetus 

 of Linn^us, is of a snowy whiteness, and the 

 bird itself is much larger than the wild swan ; 

 often weighing twenty-five pounds, and mea- 

 suring three feet and a-half in length. The 

 female makes her nest among the rouo-h her- 

 bage, near the water's edge, and lays from six 

 582 



to eight large white eggs. She sits for the 

 space of six weeks — some say eight — before 

 they are hatched. Tlie young do not acquire 

 their full plumage till the second year. 



Swans, from the earliest period of our 

 history, have been protected on the river 

 Thames as roj^al property ; and it continues, at 

 this day, to be accounted felony to steal their 

 eggs. By this means their increase is secured ; 

 whilst they prove highly ornamental to the 

 river scenery. In the reign of Edward IV., 

 the estimation in which they were held was 

 such, that no one who possessed a freehold of 

 less than the clear yearly value of five marks, 

 was permitted even to keep them. In those 

 times hardly a piece of water was left unoccu- 

 pied by these birds, as well on account of the 

 pleasure they gave to the eye of their lordly 

 owners, as that which they afforded when they 

 graced the sumptuous boards at the splendid 

 feasts of that period. The manners of those 

 days, however, have passed away, and swans 

 are not now so common as they were formerly^ 

 being by most people considered a coarse kind 

 of food, and consequently held in little estima- 

 tion ; but cygnets (young swans) are still fat- 

 tened for the table, and are sold for a guinea 

 each, and even more. Hence we may infer 

 that they are better food than is generally 

 imagined. 



This swan is a bird beautifully formed. lu 

 it we see no broken or harsh lines, no con- 

 strained or abrupt motions, but the roundest 

 contour and the easiest transitions imaginable. 

 The eye wauders over every part with pleasure, 

 and each portion takes new grace with new 

 postures. 



" The swan, with arched neck 

 Between her white wings manthng, proudly rows 

 Her state with oary feet." 



It exhibits, however, but an inelegant appear- 

 ance on land. 



The swan will swim faster tlian a man can. 

 walk. It is very strong, and at times ex- 

 tremely fierce ; it has not unfrequently been 

 known to throw down and trample upon 

 youths of fifteen or sixteen years of age ; and 

 an old swan, we are told, is able to break the 

 leg of a man with a single stroke of its wing. 

 A female, while in the act of sitting, observed 

 a fox swimming towards her from the opposite 

 shore: she instantly darted into the water; 



