SWANS 193 



wheat and com. They breed even earlier than the geese. 

 One year a pair of black swans made a nest in February 

 when there was snow on the ground and the ponds were 

 frozen up tight. When the young hatched, a hole in the ice 

 had to be cut for them, but they survived the icy baths, and 

 the four young were reared. 



Cox's Method. Mr. Cox bred swans at East Brewster, 

 Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, raised young, and had quite 

 a flock. Each pair had to be kept separate, in a fenced area 

 of meadow, with a brook flowing through it. They fed 

 mostly on vegetation helped out with grain. The young 

 were given no food till they joined their parents in the 

 grain ration. 



