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taken when young, were as tame as Domestic Geese, to which these birds are so much alike in every respect, that I can have no doubt of their belonging to one genus. Their bill is flat and black at the extremity, as well as on the margins, convex and somewhat angular in the middle, so far at least that the swelling part terminates in an angle. The middle is fleshy where the oblong nostrils are situated; the base flat or quadrangular, with two sinuses pointing upwards, and pale-coloured. The margin is toothed, just like the Concha Veneris (Cypræa).” -Linnæus's Tour in Lapland, vol. ii. Mr. Yarrell, who, of all naturalists, is perhaps best acquainted with the nice distinctions that separate the various species of Swans, seems to refer the above account to the Hooper or Whistling Swan.

A service might thus be rendered to œconomical ornithology by fairly trying the Hooper, of whose tameability Linnæus speaks so highly; it is less graceful, however, bearing more resemblance in its attitudes and carriage to the Canada Goose. There is also the Polish Swan, that produces white Cygnets; and Bewick's Swan, if to be procured alive, might originate a stock of great value for limited pieces of water, since it averages in size one-third less than the Cygnus Olor. None of the species can be less domestic than the Mute Swan, if it would really open its heart to us; but, being a "game" bird, of great pluck, it carries off matters with a high hand, and temporarily conceals its hatred of the trammels in which it is compelled to live; the very webs of its feet being sometimes slit, to retard it in its unkind chase after other water-fowl. For those to whom amount of purchasemoney is of little importance, there is the Black Swan, a creature of much gentler manners, less in size, less tyrannical to other birds, and indeed altogether taking in its ways. It is strange that their price should still continue so high, as they breed in this country, frequently, though not abundantly, under circumstances that must be considered unfavourable. I suspect from the localities in

Australia where they were originally found, that they would thrive all the better for an occasional marine diet, and, like the Shelldrake, enjoy now and then a treat of cockles and shrimps, with perhaps a barrowful of seaweed as the joint on which to cut and come again.

Those who wish to make themselves acquainted with the habits and dispositions, as well as the mere figures and descriptions of animals, should be informed that all living creatures cannot be divided into two distinct ranks of Wild and Tame, as, for example, the Horse and the Zebra among quadrupeds, and the Blue Rock Pigeon and the Ringdove among birds, just as they would separate the red and the white men on a chess-board, but that there is a most perplexing intermediate multitude, neither wild nor yet tameable, but usually spoken of as "familiar " "half-domesticated," a term without meaning-dodging, like camp-followers, on the offskirts of human society, but determined never to enlist in the drilled and disciplined ranks, playing the game of "off and on," but always ending with the "off." Such are, among many others, the Partridge, Rats and Mice, the House Sparrow, the Water Hen, and at a still greater distance, I believe and fear, the whole genus of Swans proper.

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Is there nothing resembling this amongst the human race? The mention of the word " Gipsy" will set thought-capable persons a-thinking. "Oh! but they have been neglected, uneducated, ill-cared for! Educate! Educate!" say well-intentioned persons, who seem to declare that the soul of man is a carte blanche, and who would thereby, unthinkingly, deny the doctrine of Original Sin, as asserted by the Church of England. But I have seen enough both of bird and mankind to know that the heart of neither is a carte blanche-you cannot write on either, whatever it may be your pleasure there to inscribe. Your duty, in both cases, is to take them as you find them, and make the best you can of them for their interest, which will be found eventually to coincide with your own.

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Swans, then, are feræ naturæ to all intents and purposes; of that there is no doubt, whatever the law of the matter may be; but although capricious birds, wild in their very nature, like most living creatures they have some attachment to place. The first point, therefore, is to settle them agreeably in their destined home. Old birds are less likely to be contented with a new abode, unless very distant from their former one, and are seldom to be obtained in the market. Cygnets may be procured every autumn; if they have been put up to fat for some time, so much the better, as they will the sooner become tame, and contented with a small range-which I am supposing to be the thing required. The disadvantage of having Cygnets to begin swan-keeping with, is, that they are less ornamental till they have attained their perfect plumage, and the proper orange colour of the bill, and that they do not breed till their third year. It is not, however, generally known that the male is capable of increasing his kind a year earlier than the female; so that a brood may be obtained from an old hen, and a cockbird in his second year. In selecting a pair, the great thing is to make sure of having two birds of opposite sexes. Two cock-birds will not live together, and their mutual aversion would soon show that all was not right; but two hens will-which is the case also with Pigeons. A friend of mine procured a couple of Swans; they were affectionate and happy in each other's society: in due time they made their nest and laid. Great were the expectations; such a plenty of eggs! both Swans assiduous in sitting-rather suspicious that-the produce addle-eggs. The two ladies could not raise up a family between them.

In selecting any water-birds whose plumage is alike in both sexes, and which cannot therefore be distinguished with certainty, the best rule is to see them in the water, and take that which swims deepest for the female, and that which floats with greatest buoyancy for the male, remembering that all creatures of the masculine gender

have the largest lungs in proportion to their size. The neck of the cock-bird is usually thicker. An experienced eye will, besides, detect a certain feminine gentleness and modesty in the one, and an alacrity and boldness in the other, which is a tolerably safe guide, as well as an appropriate and becoming attribute to the creatures themselves. It is cheaper in the end to give a fair price for a pair of old, well-seasoned birds to begin with, than to undergo the care, the delay, and perhaps the disappointment of nursing Cygnets through their youth of three long years' duration. Brightness and clearness of the orange on the bill, and full development of the knob or "berry," indicate the complete maturity of the bird. Supposing, however, the reader to have obtained two Cygnets that are not mere friends, but actually husband and wife, he will recollect that those reserved for fatting are never pinioned, lest it should check their progress, and he will request the operation to be performed before he has them home, in order that they may have the fewest possible disagreeable reminiscences connected with the spot where they are to spend their lives. There are two ways of pinioning birds; at the elbow joint, and at the wrist. The amputation of the part of the wing which corresponds to our hand is quite sufficient to prevent the flight of the short-winged species, as far as migration is concerned, disfigures them less than the closer pruning, and still leaves them the means of escape from a dog or a poacher, allows them now and then in their gambols to fancy they are free, and to enjoy a sort of half-run, half-fly from the lawn into the water. Kindness, comfort, and good feeding must be employed to keep them at home as far as possible; but the loss of the last joint only of the wing will not be enough to prevent Swans from joining any travelling companions who are on the way to the Arctic circle. I should recommend the female to be pinioned at the wrist, the male at the elbow, trusting to their mutual attachment to keep the less-maimed bird from deserting her mate. But however it be done, let it be set about in

a workmanlike manner; no chopping nor hacking, nor hewing, nor butchering. Many Cygnets are annually killed by the clumsy way in which their wing is lopped off. They suffer from the shock to their nervous system as much as from the hæmorrhage.

A skilful operator will feel for the joint, divide the skin, and turn the bone neatly out of the socket. I will allow him to shed just one drop of bloodI would be as hard upon him as Portia was upon the flesh-cutting

Jew.

If

-no more.

"This bond doth give here no jot of blood;

The words expressly are a limb of swan;

Take then thy bond, take thou thy limb of swan;
But, in the cutting it, if thou dost shed

One drop of cygnine blood, thy clumsiness
Shall brand the name of 'Bungler' on thy back.
Therefore, prepare thee to cut off the limb,

Shed thou no blood; nor cut thou less, nor more
But just the very limb; if thou tak'st more
Or less than just the limb, thou shalt bewail
The consequence."

any brook runs into and from the pond where they are to remain, their escape through that channel must be prevented by sheep-netting, hurdles, pales, or other fencing, which should be continued some distance inland, lest they should walk away, if they cannot swim away. This precaution will be found particularly necessary if there is any main stream in the immediate neighbourhood. A feeding trough may be fixed for them in the pond, in the part where it is most desirable that they should be accustomed to display themselves. Those who are fastidious about the sight of such an object, or who wish to have it thought that the Swans keep so much in view from purely disinterested motives (from simple affection to their masters, not from the greedy love of corn) may contrive to have it hid beneath a bank, or behind a tree or shrub. The trough must be fixed in the pond on two firm posts, within arm's length of the shore, raised high enough from the water to prevent Ducks from stealing

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