BRITISH BIRDS. 117 



Boston' (p. 678), says, on the roll of the swannery formerly on the Witham, 

 " the King's Swans were doubly marked, and had what is called two nicks or 

 notches." The Rev. Stephen Weston, in a note respecting this roll, supposes 

 that from this has arisen the well-known sign of the ' Swan with Two Necks,' 

 originally the ' Swan with Two Nicks,' the King's Swan. The Swan with 

 two nicks clearly was the Royal Swan, which every one would know. 



Also the ordinances which refer to the Swannery on the Witham, made 

 24th May, 1524 (Henry VIII.), give the penalty for "destroying a Swan's 

 nest, breaking their eggs, or killing a Swan, £5," a large sum for those days ; 

 while the statute 1 1 Henry VII. ordained that " stealing or taking of Swans' 

 eggs shall have a year's imprisonment, and make fine at the King's will." 

 " The King's swannerd, with two others, to row anywhere to look for Swans 

 without interruption." 



Also power was given to the King's swannerd, or his deputy, to " seize 

 and distrain for forfeitures ; and persons giving information of finable offences 

 to have one moiety of the fine " (Henry VIII.). 



" At the wedding-dinner of Gervas Clifton and Mary Neville, 1530, there 

 were 12 Swans at 6 shillings each." 



CYGNUS MUSICUS. 



(Wliooper.) 



The fine plate of John Wolley looking at the nest of these birds in Russian 

 Lapland (' Ootheca WoUeyana ') gives the real thing. The " Old Bushman " 

 says, " I never saw the Wild Swan in the vicinity of Quickiock ; but I obtained 

 two full nests from lockmock, the one containing seven, the other five eggs. 

 They appear never to go right up on the snow-fells, but to breed in the 

 inland lakes that lie in the meadows at their feet " (' Spring and Summer in 

 Lapland,' p. 360). 



R 2 ' 



