SWANS MOST DESTRUCTIVE. 71 



Thus, in May, 1861, Mr. Francis Francis, 

 the Angling Editor, a highly experienced and 

 good observer, writes — " I happened to meet 

 Milbourne, the ■water-bailiff, while fishing up 

 the river a day or two since, and I asked him 

 what he thought of the swans eating the 

 spawn 1 He said, ' Lord bless you, sir ; they 

 not only eat it, but they eat nearly all of it. 

 At this very time there has been as fine a lot 

 of jack as ever I saw spawning in "Walton 

 Reach. They spawned up the ditches and 

 cuts, and as soon as they spawned the swans 

 would go up the ditches after them and eat 

 it all up ; and you could not drive them away. 

 Some people, who don't know anything about 

 it, won't believe it. I called Mr. Wheatley, 

 of Walton, out a few days ago. He wouldn't 

 believe it, and I showed him the swans gob- 



