MR. T. SOUTHWELL ON THE ST. HELEN’S SWAN-PIT. 207 
Tho pit is situated in the meadow at the back of the Hospital, 
and is solidly constructed of brick-work ; it is seventy-four feet in 
length, thirty-two feet in width, and six feet deep, the water rising 
to a depth of about two feet ; along the sides are floating troughs, 
which rise and fall with the altering level of the water, they are 
kept in place by posts placed for that purpose, and in them the 
food for the cygnets is deposited ; at one end of the pit is a sloping 
stage, which enables the cygnets to leave the water when so disposed, 
and to obtain access to a railed-in enclosure, in which they can 
rest and prune themselves. The tank lias connection with the 
river, near which it is situated, and the water rises and falls with 
the tide, being regulated by a sluice and valve. 
Having now described the receptacle which is to bo the home 
of the young birds for the final stage of their brief existence, we 
will visit their birth-place, and trace their progress from the egg 
until they are ready to return with us to St. Helen’s. 
And here I must beg to be allowed to quote from another source 
in which I have described the lifo-history of a cygnet, and to 
which I do not think I could add materially.* 
“ Wo will suppose the month of March to have arrived, and the 
young birds, it may be only in their second year (if so, their brood 
will be a small one), to have paired (probably for life), settled all 
preliminaries, and chosen a site for their nest : then begins the 
important work of building a receptacle for their eggs ; and this is 
no mean labour, for tho swan’s nest is of ample dimensions, and 
requires a very considerable quantity of material for its con- 
struction ; and even when sitting, the old birds appear to be 
constantly adding to and rearranging their already, to all appear- 
ance, ample structure. The spot chosen for the nest is always near 
the water, either on an island in the river or broad, on the marshy 
‘ rond,’ or at the entrance to some marsh drain, and is composed of 
the coarse herbage which is sure to be found in abundance in such 
a locality, often supplemented by a load of marsh-grass and sedges, 
deposited in a convenient position by the broad-keeper. The male 
bird takes his fair share of the work, and when the nest is in all 
other respects ready for the eggs, he stations himself upon it, 
shaping out, with the weight and motion of his body, a hollow 
* ‘ Blackwood’s Magazine,’ Doe. 18S8, p. 830. 
