312 VEKTEBRATA. 



iiiark.-.l (.11 til.' Mils Ly nion callc.l Swan-Uppers or Swan-Hoppers. There are also swanneries 

 ill ..tii.r parts ..f tlir kiii^.L-iu. At Norwich, according to Yarrell, the swans, about seventy in 

 miuilMr. be-long to the city, uml arc prosidcl over by a public swanher.l. The young birds are 

 osteenio'd a giHJat delicacy lor the table. Tlie following recioc is the standard guide for their 

 cookery : to uoast a swan. 



Take tliroo pnniuls of beef, beat fine in a morfar, 



Put it into till- Swiin—tluit is, when you've ciuiglit her; 



Some pepper, siiuee, inaee, some nutmeg, lui onion, 



Will lieiij;liten the liuvor iu gournuind's opinion. 



Then tie it up tight with a small piece of tape, 



That the ijravy and other things may not escape. 



.\ meal paste, rather still', should be laid on the breast, 



And some whited brown paper should cover the rest. 



Fifteen minutes at least ere the Swan you take down, 



Pull the paste oil" the bird that the breast may get brown. 



THE GRAVY. 



To a gravy of beef, good and strong, I opine, 

 Vou'll be right if you add half a pint of port wine; 

 Tour this through the Swan— yes, quite through the belly, 

 Then serve the wliole up with some hot currant-jelly. 



Bewick's Swan, C. Bcioickii, is nearly four feet long, and white, having somewhat the air 

 air and manners of a goose on the water ; it is migratory, breeding in summer in the north of 

 Europe, and spending the winter at the south. 



The I'oLisii Swan or Changeless Swan, C. immtitabilis, is another wild species, fifty-si-x 

 inches long, plumage white, and in habits resembling the preceding. A male of this species paired 

 with a female Mute Swan at Knowsley, and a hybrid brood was the result. These, however, did 

 not pair either among themselves or with others. 



Formerly swans were all supposed to be white, and "white as a swan" was equivalent to "white 

 as snow ;" but Australia, amid its anomalies, has furnished to natural history a Black Swan, C. 

 atratus. It is nearly the size of the swans we have described, and has similar manners, but it is 

 entirely black, except a few white feathers on the wings. It is abundant iu Van Diemen's Land, 

 and along the Swan River country in Western Australia. 



The American Sw^\n, C Americanus, formerly supposed to be the same as the Hooper Swan 

 of Europe, is about five feet five inches long, white, and breeds in the high northern regions of 

 this continent. It is often seen in spring — the flock arranged in a triangular line, and high in 

 air — winging its way to the distant lakes, where it builds its nest and rears its young. Many of 

 these birds spend the winter as far north as Chesapeake Bay ; it is said to be abundant along the 

 western shores of North America. 



The Trumpeter-Swan, C. buccinator^ is fifty-three inches long, white, and has a harsh, trumpet- 

 like note; habits similar to the preceding. It is this species wliich furnishes the sioan-skins im- 

 ported into London by the Hudson's Bay Company ; it is, however, chiefly known from the Mis- 

 sissippi Valley to the Pacific. 



THE ANSERIN.E OR GEESE. 



Genus ANSER : Anser. — To this belong the principal species of Geese, which, as is well known, 

 are migratory, move in flocks, and feed upon vegetable substances along the borders of salt as 

 well as fresh waters. The Domestic Goose — Oie ordinaire of the French — is too familiar to need 

 description. It is derived from the Gra}j LafhGoose, the Common Wild Goose of Europe. It is 

 not mentioned in the Bible, but it was known to the ancient Egyptians, and is figured abun- 

 dantly on the monuments, showing that it was anciently used for food, as in our own times. It 

 was held sacred by the Romans, because it was said, by its cackling at night, to have alarmed 

 the sentinels of the Capitol upon the invasion of the Gauls, and thus to have saved the city. It 

 is generally esteemed a foolish bird, yet it displays courage in defending its young, and instances 

 of attachment and gratitude have shown that it is not deficient in sentiment. Its utility to man 

 has rendered it an object of careful cultivation. The quantity raised in England is really astonish- 



