280 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
®lje Jpoultrg gariX 
The Swan. 
The family of Swans, ( Cygnina ,) embraces nine 
known species 5 viz., 1 . The Mute Swan, ( Cygnus 
olor ;) 2. Polish Swan, (C. immutahil’s ;) 3. Bewick 
Swan, (C. bewickii ;) 4. Hooper, or Whistling Swan, 
(C. musicus of Bechstein;) 5. American Swan, ( C . 
americanus ;) 8 . Trumpeter Swan, (C. buccinator ;) 
7. South American Swan (C. an at aide s ^ 8 . Black¬ 
necked Swan, (C. nigricollis ,-) 9. Black Swan, (C. 
atratus.) Of these, the four first-named are reckoned 
as belonging to Europe and Asia, the fifth and sixth to 
North America, the seventh and eighth to South Ameri¬ 
ca, and the ninth to New Holland. 
Our cut represents the Mute swan, usually called in 
Europe, the domestic swan. The majestic and grace¬ 
ful movements of this bird have been admired from the 
earliest times. In England it is said to be a “ Royal 
71— MUTE SWAN. 
bird, in 'which no subject can have property when at 
large in a public river or creek, except by grant from 
the crown.” This species has been imported to Ameri¬ 
ca, and is occasionally found as an ornament to the 
grounds of gentlemen of taste. 
The male and female mate in pairs. The female 
lays from five to seven eggs, and the period of incuba¬ 
tion is six weeks. The young are called cygnets. They 
are at first clothed with greyish brown down, and they 
do not become entirely white till they are three years 
old. The bird is very long-lived—instances being known 
of its having lived more than a century. Its natural 
food is aquatic plants, but it readily eats any kind of 
grain. 
There are other species of swans which appear to be 
susceptible of partial domestication. Martin states 
that the Hooper, as well as the Polish swan will breed 
in confinement, with access to a pond or sheet of water. 
This is truo, also, of our American swan, which in se¬ 
veral instances has been known to breed in a state of 
captivity. It is a noble bird, nearly as large as the 
mute swan, but is inferior to the latter in gracefulness 
and beauty. 
The flesh of young swans is of good quality. For¬ 
merly it was held in great estimation. We learn that 
it is still served up in Europe, on occasions of public 
banquets. But swans are kept chiefly as ornament.— 
not for food. 
The Canada Goose. 
Closely allied to the swans, are some species usually 
Included in the Anserine or Goose family. The Cana¬ 
dian, or American wild goose, ( Anser canadensis ,) 
&nd the Chinese goose, ( A . cygnoides ,) occupy, as a 
Sept 
writer observes, “ a sort of debateable groand/’ so that 
naturalists have been in doubt as to which family they 
should be referred ; and hence some have applied to 
them the name of swan-geese. 
The Canadian goose is extensively known. It is a mi¬ 
gratory bird, and in its semi-annual journeys, traverses 
the northern part of the continent almost from the equator 
to the pole ; and there are but few of the inhabitants of this 
country that are not familiar with its shrill and animating 
cry. Its autumnal flight lasts from the middle of Au¬ 
gust to the middle of October, and the vernal flight 
from the middle of April to the middle of May. Va¬ 
rious stops are made, however, at convenient points, be¬ 
tween the winter and summer localities. 
It breeds in its wild state, only at the north. Its fa¬ 
vorite res'ort is the coast of Labrador, and the region 
about Hudson’s Bay; though Hearne speaks of having 
seen great numbers within the Arctic circle, pushing 
their way still northward. 
To the inhabitants of the regions where it breeds, 
the bird is regarded as an important source of subsist¬ 
72 —CANADIAN GOOSE. 
ence. Its arrival in spring is anxiously looked for, and 
the Indians denominate the. month the goose moon. It 
is said that the carcasses of these birds are dealt out as 
rations to the men employed by the Hudson’s Bay Com¬ 
pany. 11 One goose, which when fat weighs about nine 
pounds, is the daily ration to one of the Company’s ser¬ 
vants during the season, and is reckoned equivalent to 
two snow-geese, ( A. hyper bore a,} or three ducks, or 
eight pounds of buffalo and moose meat, or two pounds 
of pemmican, or a pint of maize and four ounces of su¬ 
et.” [ Richardson .] Those which are killed after the 
weather becomes cool ir. the fall, are frozen and kept in 
the feathers for a winter stock of provisions. 
Richardson describes the habits of these geese in his 
Fauna Boreali-Americana, as follows: 
“ About three weeks after their first appearance, the 
Canada geese disperse in pairs through the country, be¬ 
tween the 50th and 67th parallels, to breed, retiring at 
the same time from the shores of Hudson’s Bay. In 
July, after the young birds are hatched, the parents 
moult, and vast numbers are killed in the rivers and 
lakes, when from the loss of their quill-feathers, they 
are unable to fly. When chased by a canoe, and obli¬ 
ged to dive frequently, they soon become fatigued, and 
make for the shore with the intention of hiding them¬ 
selves, but as they are not fleet, they fall an easy prey 
to their pursuers. In autumn they again assemble in 
flocks on the shores of Hudson’s Bay, for three weeks 
or a month previous to their departure southwards.” 
The Canada goose has been domesticated and is not 
an uncommon inhabitant of the poultry-yard, either in 
this country or in England. It does not breed till it is 
three years old. It is omewhat larger than the com¬ 
mon goose, and its flesh is better; it has also more fea- 
