twenty-seven Cygnets in only three families. But this is above the average. I have, however, seen seven reared on a very small moat. It is better not to gratify any unnecessary curiosity respecting the eggs; indeed the parent birds will hardly allow it. The cock makes great show, and often more than show, of fight against interlopers. A blow from his pinion on land is better avoided; and in the water he would bother the strongest swimmer to escape from his fury. I was once attacked by a Swan when walking too intrusively near his lady's lying-in bed; he was keeping guard by sailing in short tacks backwards and forwards before her, but he left the water to give me a forcible hint to go about my own business. The only thing was to meet the threatened danger; so seizing his neck in one hand and his outstretched wing in the other, I tossed him as far into the middle of the stream as I could. He seemed a little astonished for a few moments, but lashing the waters into foam he would have renewed the attack had I not speedily withdrawn from his dominions. Coming to close quarters with them is the surest mode of defence. The blow of a Swan's wing, to take effect, must hit at a certain distance. It is clear they are mischievously minded at such times; but I think that the real danger to be apprehended has, from policy, been exaggerated, that it may act as a sort of guardian dragon to the tempting fruit of the Hesperides. There are possibly persons living who would not be unwilling to have it believed that Hares and Pheasants are most formidable creatures to encounter, especially on moonlight nights. The Cygnets when first inclining to mouse colour. weeks, or thereabouts. A hatched are of a slaty grey, The time of incubation is six common notion in Norfolk is that the Cygnets cannot be hatched till a thunder-storm comes to break the shells, and that the hen will go on sitting till the birth of her young ones is complimented with that portentous salute. A Swan might boast with Owen Glendower "At my nativity Let us not reply in the contemptuous language of Hotspur, nor altogether reject the popular idea; the close sultry weather which sometimes for two or three days precedes a tempest, would hasten the development of chicks that were nearly arrived at the hatching point. What effect electrical oscillations have on animal life we as yet know not, but our own feelings tell us they have some. The happy parents will charge themselves with the entire maintenance of their tender young, if they have but the range of a large extent of river banks and shallow water; will lead them up the quiet ditches, point out the juicy blade, the floating seed, the struggling insect, the sinuous worm; will then steer to shoals left by some circling eddy, and, stirring up the soft sediment with their broad feet, show that minute but nutritious particles may thence be extracted. As hunger is satisfied and weariness comes on, the mother will sink in the stream till her back becomes an easy landing-place, and the nurslings are thus transferred in a secure and downy cradle to fresh feeding-places. But in a restricted beat they must not be left altogether to themselves. A gently sloping bank will enable them to repair at pleasure to the grassy margin. The old ones must have plenty of corn, which they will by and by teach their young to eat; tender vegetables from the kitchen garden, such as endive, lettuce, or cress, will help to sustain them, besides attracting those soft-bodied water-creatures that are of all food the most needful. Pollard frequently scattered on the surface of the pond will be of material assistance; and whatever it is found that they will eat, let them have in the greatest abundance. Their growth is rapid; their weight should be considerable, with but little time to acquire it in. The period cannot be extended much longer than from June to the end of November. By Christmas they must all either be eaten, or have emigrated, when the parents will begin to direct their thoughts forward to a succeeding family. A fat Cygnet is a capital dish, and deserves a higher repute than it generally obtains. Its stately appearance on the table is alone worth something. Those who have only a good sized pond-say from a quarter to half an acre of water-may rear and fat an annual brood. In so small a space, the old birds must of course share with their young the extra supply of fatting corn; but they will get through the winter the better for it, and be more prolific in the spring. Neither they nor their Cygnets should at any time be allowed to become poor. When Cygnets are removed from their parents to be fatted in a regular Swan-pond, it is usual to separate them at the end of August or the beginning of September. At first grass is thrown into the water to them twice a day with their other food; but this is not continued for more than a fortnight. A coomb of barley is the established allowance to fat each Swan. The corn is put into shallow tubs set just under water. The birds are considered worth from 10s. to 12s. each when they are "hopped" or 66 upped" from their native streams ; but when brought into prime condition, 27., formerly 21. 28. They may occasionally be had for less, in which case they make a cheap as well as a handsome dish to set before a large dinner party. Their weight in the feathers varies from 25 lbs. to 28 lbs., and sometimes, though rarely, 30 lbs. They are never better than in the month of October, when the gastronomical inquirer, who is as yet unacquainted with their merits, is recommended to give them a fair and impartial trial. They may be had till Christmas, after which they are good for nothing. A bird weighing 28 lbs. before Christmas, has been known to shrink to 17 or 18 lbs. by the end of January, in spite of high feeding. Therefore, make hay while the sun shines, Mr. Epicure. As, in the spring, the snowdrop gives way to the primrose and the violet, so, in autumn, the Swan yields its place on the board to the Turkey and the Guinea-fowl. If to-day is lost, to-morrow the opportunity will have flown, in higher concerns than mere eating and drinking. Now-or, perhaps, never. The Swan-feasts that seem to have left the most pleasing impressions on the palates of the partakers have been solemnised in the course of the month of September. As to the mode of dressing, those artists who are skilled in the treatment of venison will easily cook Swan, viz., with a meal crust over it to keep the gravy in. Instead of stuffing it with sage and onions, like a Goose (vulgar condiments to vulgar birds), use rump-steak chopped fine, and seasoned with cayenne and salt. When browned, and served to an admiring circle, let it have rich gravy and currant-jelly, the latter hot as well as cold, in respectful attendance. And is that all? No; the best remains behind. The hash next day is worth riding twenty miles to eat. Nay, more; the giblets make soup before which ox-tail sinks into insignificance. The mere writing about it has made me hungry. Mr. Yarrell gives some information on the subject, which I will not wrong him by pirating. See "British Birds," vol. iii. p. 127. He has also collected a curious list of swan-marks. I will mention two instances of Swans doing well in a very small scope, as an encouragement to those who are inclined to establish a couple of these fine birds where there may be but little apparent accommodation for them. The first occurred some years ago at Bircham Tofts in Norfolk. A single Swan, driven out or wandering from Houghton, it was supposed, but never known exactly, took possession of a pond, and not being claimed remained there several years. It was not fed, but we may believe that in hard winters some charitable farmer threw it a little dross corn; and so it continued happy and well. But in the same parish there was, at a short distance, another and a smaller pond, to which the Swan would occasionally walk when provisions fell short in his original residence. In one of these removals he was stoned by the village boys, and so much injured that he died. Being desirous to know whether there was any peculiarity in the aquatic vegetation of the pond, which rendered it capable of supporting such a large bird so constantly, I requested to have a sample of weeds taken from it at random, and was most obligingly supplied by the occupier. But there was nothing which may not be found in every other pond in the county-brook-lime, persicaria, myosotis, and the commonest weeds. How far worms, larvæ, and small molluscs may abound, I am unable to say. The second case, which must be well remembered by all travellers from Norwich to London by the Bury road, is at Long Stratton, in Norfolk, where Swans have for some years been kept in the smallest piece of water I ever saw occupied by them, and yet they have always appeared healthy and contented. The water is exposed to the high road without any fence whatever, and the Swans became so tame as to eat from the hand of casual passers by. But owing to ill-nature, or mere mischievousness, perhaps, there has been a sad succession of individual specimens. About thirty years back a pair of Swans were put into this very small pond or canal, which lies before the mansion of the Rev. Ellis Burroughes. This pair remained there about fifteen years, but never bred, probably on account of their limited scope and confined and exposed situation. However, they kept the water quite free from any weeds, and also fed upon the grass that grew by the water's edge. They were besides constantly supplied with a quarter of a peck of oats every morning during the summer months, and in winter their supply of dry food was increased in proportion to their wants. They also got many odd bits of bread from the neighbours, which they would eat if thrown into the water; they were very fond of the leaves of crowfoot, and were familiar enough to take them from the hand. After |