250 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



caprices of fashion and the customs of the was discovered, they say, in 1668 by the sailors 



country. We no longer use swans' quills for of the East India Company, who brought it to 



pens ; nor do we believe in the chariot of Europe, where it was speedily bred and raised. 



Lohengrin and the young swan-maidens who Millions still people the lakes of southern 



The Bosom of the Family 



attended the Valkyria and who played so prom- 

 inent a part in ancient legends. 



Swans are to be found everywhere except 

 in the tropics. About ten species have been 

 discovered, of which the best known are the 

 domestic swans, both white and black. 



The white swan is the largest species. Its 

 red beak, especially in the males, is furnished 

 with a sort of ]5rotuberance, and its legs are 

 black. The \'(iung swans are gray when born, 

 and do not luu-e their dazzling white color until 



r5l.,\CK Sw.AXS 



they are two years okl. There is, h(i\ve\'er, a 

 species, f)r sport, which is white with white 

 legs from its birth. 



Seen alone in our ponds, the black swan has 

 a rather somber aspect, but in company with 

 the white swans it ]ir()duces a hne effect. It 



Australia, where they live in a wild state in 

 company with the wild or singing swan, which 

 is known by its beak, half black, half citron- 

 yellow, and which, when tamed, is unwilling 

 to hatch its eggs. It is probably this wild 

 swan which has given rise to many poetical 

 ideas, especially that of the swan's song; for 

 it does in reality make a sound which might 

 be taken for a species of song. There was 

 one in Bremen in 1856, which had many 

 listeners from far and near ; and certain 

 writers make mention, as of 

 a natural fact, that singing 

 swans inhabit the shores of 

 the North Sea, especiall)- to 

 the east of Holstein. 



The swan with a black neck 

 holds a middle place between 

 the two preceding species. 

 Comparatively, it has been 

 known only of late, and it 

 was not until 18S0 that A^oung 

 ones were successfully raised 

 at the Jardin des Plantes in 

 Paris. A nati\e of South 

 America, it is now acclimated 

 throughout nearh* the whole 

 of Europe. The sharp dix'ision between the 

 dazzling white body and the black neck makes 

 the bird a much-desired though costly ornament 

 to ponds and lakes. It keeps usually at a cer- 

 tain distance from the other swans unless it 

 makes war upon them. The protuberance on 



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