230 



THE AMERICAN POULTERER'S COMPANION. 



MUTE SWANP. 



CHAPTEE XV. 



AQUATIC FOWLS. 



THE WHITE SWAN. 



AT the head of this class of birds may justly 

 be placed the stately and majestic Swan. Next 

 to the peacock on the land, the swan is the 

 most noble and elegant fowl on the water. 

 Though they are seldom found on any farms in 

 this country, and are not in request as food, 

 they are well worth the notice of every one hav- 

 ing a pond or an inclosed part of a creek, to en- 

 liven and beautify the scenery by a small family 

 of swans. 



Every person that has visited Fairmount, 

 Philadelphia, must recollect the beautiful swan 

 that floats silently and majestically on the bo- 

 som of the little pond at its base. Its beautiful 

 plumage of pure white, black legs, feet, and 

 bill; its beautiful curved neck and graceful 

 movements, could not escape the notice of any 

 one. 



The antiquity of this stately bird, the " silent 

 swan," is conspicuous in the pages of history 



and poetry. The prototype of the domesticated 

 breed has been probably lost in the lapse of 

 time, "since the wild swans," says Mowbray, 

 " of all countries, diifer essentially, both in plu- 

 mage and organic structure, from the tame. 

 The longevity of the swan seems to equal, if 

 not exceed, that of any other animal, as it is 

 said to live three centuries." 



"The goose, the swan, and the eagle," says 

 Boswell, "are well known to be the longest 

 lived birds. Of the former, it is comparatively 

 easy to discover the precise age ; of the third, 

 from its very nature, it is clearly impossible ; 

 and of the second, from its temporary overpow- 

 ering propensity to change situations, it is very 

 difficult. The place of an old swan may be 

 supplied by a younger one, and may still, from 

 their similarity, be considered the same." 



Besides the tame swan, there are said to be 

 three European varieties. Of these one has 

 been recently characterized ; it is allied to the 

 tame swan, but instead of the legs, toes, and 



