ANAS. 
iarly when softened by the murmur of the 
waters. At the setting in of frosty wea- 
ther, the wild swans are said to associate 
in prodigious multitudes, and, thus united, 
to use every effort to prevent the water 
from freezing : this they accomplish by the 
continual stir kept up amongst them ; and 
by constantly dashing it with their extended 
wings, they are enabled to remain as long 
as it suits their convenience, in some fa- 
vourite part of a lake or river which abounds 
with their food. The swan is very pro- 
perly entitled the peaceful monarch of the 
lake : conscious of his superior strength, he 
fears no enemy, nor suffers any bird, how- 
ever powerful, to molest him ; neither does 
he prey upon any one. His vigorous wing 
is as a shield against the attacks even of 
the eagle, and the blows from it are said 
to be so powerful as to stun or kill the 
fiercest of his foes. The wolf or the fox 
may surprise him in the dark, but their ef- 
forts are vain in the day. His food consists 
of the grasses and weeds, and the seeds 
and roots of plants which grow on the mar- 
gins of the water, and of the myriads of 
insects which skim over, or float on its sur- 
face ; also occasionally of the slimy inhabi- 
tants within its bosom. The female makes 
her nest of the withered leaves and stalks 
of reeds and rushes, and lays commonly six 
or seven thick-shelled white eggs : she is 
said to sit upon them six weeks before they 
are hatched. Both male and female are 
very attentive to their young, and will suf- 
fer no enemy to approach them. 
Anas Cygnus Mansuetus, or mute swan. 
The plumage of this species is of the same 
snowy whiteness as that of the wild swan, 
and the bird.is covered next the body with 
the same kind of fine close down ; but it 
greatly exceeds the wild swan in size, 
weighing about twenty-five pounds, and 
measuring more in the length of the body 
and extent of the wings. This also differs 
in being furnished with a projecting, cal- 
lous, black tubercle, or knob, on the base 
of the upper mandible, and in the colour 
of the bill, which in this is red, with black 
edges and tip ; the naked skin between the 
bill and the eyes is also of the latter co- 
lour : in the wild swan this bare space is 
yellow. The swan, although possessed of 
the power to rule, yet molests none of the 
other water-birds, and is singularly social 
and attentive to those of his own family, 
which he protects from every insult. While 
they are employed with the cares of the 
young brood, it is not safe to approach 
near them, for they will fly upon any stran- 
ger, whom they often beat to the ground 
by repeated blows ; and they have been 
known by a stroke of the wing to break a 
man’s leg. But, however powerful they 
are with their wings, yet a slight blow on 
the head will kill them. The swan, for 
ages past, has been protected on the river 
Thames as royal property ; and it conti- 
nues at this day to be accounted felony to 
steal their eggs. “ By this means their in- 
crease is secured, and they prove a delight- 
ful ornament to that noble river ” Latham 
says, ‘‘In the reign of Edward IV. the 
estimation they were held in was such, that 
no one who possessed a freehold of less 
than the clear yearly value of five marks, 
was permitted even to keep any.” In those 
times, hardly a piece of water was left un- 
occupied by these birds, as well on account 
of the gratification they gave to the eye of 
their lordly owners, as that which they also 
afforded when they graced the sumptuous 
board at the splendid feasts of that period : 
but the fashion of those days is passed away, 
and swans are not nearly so common now as 
they were formerly, being by most people ac- 
counted a coarse kind of food, and conse- 
quently held in little estimation ; but the cyg- 
nets (so the young swans are called) are still 
fattened for the table, and are sold very 
high, commonly for a guinea each, and 
sometimes for more : hence it may be pre- 
sumed, they are better food than is gene- 
rally imagined. This species is said to be 
found in great numbers in Russia and Si- 
beria, as well as further southward, in a 
wild state. They are, without an owner, 
common on the river Trent, and on the 
salt-water inlet of the sea near Abbotsbury, 
in Dorsetshire : they are also met on other 
rivers and lakes in different parts of the 
British isles. The female makes her nest, 
concealed among the rough herbage, near 
the water’s edge : she lays from six to eight 
large white eggs, and sits on them about six 
weeks (some say eight weeks) before they 
are hatched. The young do not acquire 
their full plumage till the second year. It 
is found by experience that the swan will 
not thrive if kept out of the water : con- 
fined in a court yard, he makes an aukward 
figure, and soon becomes dirty, tawdry, 
dull, and spiritless. 
Anas Canadensis, or Canada goose, is an- 
other useful species, which has been re- 
claimed from a state of nature, and domes- 
ticated and multiplied in many parts of 
Europe, particularly in France and Gc,r» 
