192 RECREATIONS OF A NATURALIST 



clothed with a profusion of wild flowers of every 

 hue. The yellow marigold and hawksbit, the toad- 

 flax and lady's slipper [Lotus corniculatus), the blue 

 speedwell, the purple loose-strife, the scabious, and 

 the vetch, the white meadow-sweet, the comfrey, and 

 the great ox-eye daisy, with many others, peeped 

 forth from the banks, or showed in the meadows 

 beyond as we journeyed up-stream, while overhead 

 the swifts and the sand martins were our constant 

 companions. The procession, too, was a gay one. 

 There were six boats in all, each swanherd having 

 two under his control, the Queen's men in scarlet, 

 the Dyers' in blue, and the Vintners' in blue and 

 white, while the boats w:ere still further distinguished 

 by the fluttering pennons, on which were borne the 

 insignia of the Queen and the two civic companies. 

 Rowing leisurely in single file until swans were 

 sighted, the order was then given to close in round 

 the birds in a semi-circle. The swanherd's crook 

 was then brought into requisition, and as each swan 

 in turn was brought alongside and seized, it was 

 lifted bodily into a boat, its legs tied together over 

 its back, and for a short time lay helpless, until put 

 ashore with the rest of its companions in order to 

 be marked. After every catch, the swanherds 

 landed to examine the birds and mark them accord- 

 ing as they were found to belong to the Queen, or 

 the Vintners', or the Dyers' Company. 



A good deal of nonsense has been written on the 

 supposed cruelty of marking swans, and some years 

 ago (in January 1878) the Society for the Prevention 

 of Cruelty to Animals was so ill advised as to 



