198 RECREATIONS OF A NATURALIST 



In 1894 there was a slight increase in the total 

 number of birds on the river, and while the Vintners' 

 Company gained twenty-one, the Dyers' Company 

 lost one, and the Royal swans were reduced by 

 ten. 



In 1895 the returns show a total reduction of 

 forty-four birds, or twenty-six below the average 

 for the past three years. Taking the figures for 

 this period, it would appear from the foregoing 

 tables that the average number of swans maintained 

 on the river, old and young, is 437, of which 179 

 belong to the Crown, 153 to the Vintners' Company, 

 and 104 to the Dyers' Company. In other words 

 the Vintners' Company owns about fifty more swans 

 than the Dyers' Company, while the Crown has 

 twenty-five more than the Vintners'. 



The swanherds reported that as a rule the swans 

 in the Thames are well treated by the public, who 

 feed them frequently, and do not molest the young 

 nor take the eggs. This, of course, has an im- 



