It is a curious fact that swans live to a great age; in some instances, it is said, to nearly a hundred years.

The HOOPER OF WHISTLING SWAN, C. ferus of Ray, C. musicus of Bechstein, is the Cygne Sauvage of the French, Cigno Salvatico of the Italians, Singschwan of the Germans. It derives its popular name from its loud, sonorous cry of hoop, hoop, hoop, often repeated. It is supposed to be the swan of the ancients, which was said to utter a sweet and plaintive song when dying. This, as well as some other species of swan, has a low, soft note, but not reserved for the moment that precedes death. This species is frequently domesticated in the north of Europe; in a wild state its migrations extend over Europe, its winter haunts, however, being in the warm parts of Asia and Africa. It is about twice the size of a goose, and is perfectly white.

The MUTE SWAN, C. olor, is somewhat larger than the preceding, and is of a more graceful carriage; it is in fact the species chiefly domesticated as the ornament of rivers, lakes, and fountains. It is four feet eight inches to five feet long, and weighs about thirty pounds. Its nest is formed on the ground, usually on an island, near the edge of the water, and consists of a large mass of reeds, rushes, and other coarse herbage; the eggs are six or seven, of a dull greenishwhite. During incubation the male guards the female with jealous care, and inflicts serious blows with the beak and wings upon any intruder. The young cygnets are led, or sometimes carried on the back by the female, to the water, as soon as hatched. No spectacle can be more pleasing than a pair of swans with their train of cygnets reposing or gliding upon the water. This bird is found wild during summer in Northern Europe; in winter it migrates to the south; it is stationary in Greece, Asia Minor, &c. It has long been domesticated in England, and formerly extensive swanneries existed on the Thames and other sheets of water. In 1625 no less than two thousand swans, in one flock, were to be seen upon the Avon! The swan was considered a bird-royal, and no person was permitted to keep them, except by royal grant. The king had swanneries and swanherds, not only on the Thames, but in various other parts of the kingdom. All the swans were marked, each owner having a particular sign. The statutes regulating the swanneries would fill a volume. There are still several large swanneries upon the Thames, chiefly belonging to the crown and to the "Dyers and Vintners"" companies. They are annually

marked on the bills by men called Swan-Uppers or Swan-Hoppers. There are also swannerics in other parts of the kingdom. At Norwich, according to Yarrell, the swans, about seventy in number, belong to the city, and are presided over by a public swanherd. The young birds are esteemed a great delicacy for the table. The following recipe is the standard guide for their cookery:

TO ROAST A SWAN.

Take three pounds of beef, beat fine in a mortar,

Put it into the Swan-that is, when you've caught her;
Some pepper, sauce, mace, some nutmeg, an onion,
Will heighten the flavor in gourmand's opinion.
Then tie it up tight with a small piece of tape,
That the gravy and other things may not escape.
A meal paste, rather stiff, should be laid on the breast,
And some whited brown paper should cover the rest.
Fifteen minutes at least ere the Swan you take down,
Pull the paste off the bird that the breast may get brown.

THE GRAVY.

To a gravy of beef, good and strong, I opine,

You'll be right if you add half a pint of port wine;

Pour this through the Swan-yes, quite through the belly,

Then serve the whole up with some hot currant-jelly.

BEWICK'S SWAN, C. Bewickii, is nearly four feet long, and white, having somewhat the air air and manners of a goose on the water; it is migratory, breeding in summer in the north of Europe, and spending the winter at the south.

The POLISH SWAN or CHANGELESS SWAN, C. immutabilis, is another wild species, fifty-six inches long, plumage white, and in habits resembling the preceding. A male of this species paired with a female Mute Swan at Knowsley, and a hybrid brood was the result. These, however, did not pair either among themselves or with others.

Formerly swans were all supposed to be white, and "white as a swan" was equivalent to "white as snow;" but Australia, amid its anomalies, has furnished to natural history a BLACK SWAN, C. atratus. It is nearly the size of the swans we have described, and has similar manners, but it is entirely black, except a few white feathers on the wings. It is abundant in Van Diemen's Land, and along the Swan River country in Western Australia.

The AMERICAN SWAN, C. Americanus, formerly supposed to be the same as the Hooper Swan of Europe, is about five feet five inches long, white, and breeds in the high northern regions of this continent. It is often seen in spring-the flock arranged in a triangular line, and high in air-winging its way to the distant lakes, where it builds its nest and rears its young. Many of these birds spend the winter as far north as Chesapeake Bay; it is said to be abundant along the western shores of North America.

The TRUMPETER-SWAN, C. buccinator, is fifty-three inches long, white, and has a harsh, trumpetlike note; habits similar to the preceding. It is this species which furnishes the swan-skins imported into London by the Hudson's Bay Company; it is, however, chiefly known from the Mississippi Valley to the Pacific.

THE ANSERINE OR GEESE.

Genus ANSER: Anser. To this belong the principal species of Geese, which, as is well known, are migratory, move in flocks, and feed upon vegetable substances along the borders of salt as well as fresh waters. The DOMESTIC GOOSE-Oie ordinaire of the French-is too familiar to need description. It is derived from the Gray Lag-Goose, the Common Wild Goose of Europe. It is not mentioned in the Bible, but it was known to the ancient Egyptians, and is figured abundantly on the monuments, showing that it was anciently used for food, as in our own times. It was held sacred by the Romans, because it was said, by its cackling at night, to have alarmed the sentinels of the Capitol upon the invasion of the Gauls, and thus to have saved the city. It is generally esteemed a foolish bird, yet it displays courage in defending its young, and instances of attachment and gratitude have shown that it is not deficient in sentiment. Its utility to man has rendered it an object of careful cultivation. The quantity raised in England is really astonish

ing. Pennant says: "Tame geese are kept in vast multitudes in the fens of Lincolnshire; a single person has frequently one thousand old geese, each of which will rear seven, so that toward the end of the season he will become master of eight thousand. During the breeding season these birds are lodged in the same houses with the inhabitants, and even in their very bed-chambers; in every apartment are three rows of coarse wicker-pens, placed one above another; each bird has its separate lodge divided from the other which it keeps possession

of during the time of sitting.

A person called a Gozzard, that is, Gooseherd, attends the flock, and twice a day drives the whole to water; then brings them back to their habitations, helping those that live in the upper stories to their nests, without ever misplacing a single bird. The geese are plucked five times in the year; the first plucking is at Lady-Day, for feathers and quills, and the same is renewed four times more between that and Michaelmas for feathers only. The old geese submit quietly to the operation, but the young ones are very noisy and unruly. I once saw this performed, and observed that goslins of six weeks old were not spared; for their tails were plucked, as I was told, to habituate them early to what they are to come to. If the season proves cold, numbers of the geese die by this barbarous custom. When the flocks are numerous, about ten pluckers are employed, each with a coarse apron up to his chin. Vast numbers of geese-sometimes two or three thousand in a flock-are driven annually to London to supply the markets, among them all the superannuated geese and ganders-called the 'Cagmags'-which, by a long course of plucking, prove uncommonly tough and dry. The feathers are a considerable article of commerce; those from Somersetshire are esteemed the best, and those from Ireland the worst." The liver seems to have been a favorite morsel with epicures in all ages, and invention appears to have been active in exercising the means of increasing the volume of that organ. The pâté de foie d'oie de Strasbourg is not more in request now than were the great goose-livers in the time of the Romans. This bird lives to a great age, sometimes seventy years or more.

The GRAY LAG-GoosE, A. ferus, is thirty-five inches long; upper parts ash-brown and ashgray; under parts white. It is migratory, proceeding to the northern parts of Europe and Asia in summer, and to the south in winter. This is the Common Wild Goose of England.

Other foreign species are the BEAN GOOSE, A. segetum: the PINK-FOOTED GOOSE, A. brachyrhynchus: the RED-BREASTED GOOSE, A. ruficollis: the EGYPTIAN GOOSE, A. Egyptiacus: the SPURWINGED OF GAMBO GOOSE, A. Gambensis. There are several species in Asia not here enumerated. The following are found on both continents: the WHITE-FRONTED OF LAUGHING GOOSE, A. albifrons, is twenty-seven inches long; common in Europe and in the North American Fur Countries, but rare along our coasts: the BERNICLE GOOSE, A. leucopsis, twenty-five inches long; was formerly supposed to be bred from bernicles, whence its name; found in Europe; abundantly in the Baltic, and occasionally, it is said, in Hudson's Bay: the BRENT GOOSE, A. torquatus, a small species, twenty-one inches long; common in both Europe and America. On our coast it is a favorite game bird, known by the name of Brant.

The SNOW-GOOSE, A. hyperboreus, is twenty-eight inches long, and is known on our coast by the names of White Brant and Blue-winged Goose.

VOL. II.-40

THE BRENT GOOSE.

The CANADA or CRAVAT Goose, A. Canadensis, the Wild Goose of this country, is a fine species, forty inches long, often seen in spring and autumn in large triangular flocks, high in air, and led by an old and experienced gander, who frequently utters a loud honk, doubtless equivalent to the cry of the watchman of the ship or the city, "All's well!" Often this sound comes upon the ear at night when the flock are invisible; nay, even in the daytime, when they are beyond the reach of vision, it is frequently heard, seeming to come from the sky. Immense numbers of these noble

birds are killed in Canada, as well as along our coasts, where they assemble in the autumn in large flocks, and remain till driven to more southern climates by the season.

Genus CEREOPSIS: Cereopsis.-This includes a very curious bird, the CEREOPSIS GOOSE, C. Nova Hollandia, about the size of a common goose, of a dusky gray color, most of the wingcoverts and secondary quill-feathers marked with round dusky spots. It has the air and manners of the goose family; is found in considerable numbers on the sea-shore of Lucky Bay and Goose Island, at the southeastern point of Australia. It weighs from seven to ten pounds; the flesh is excellent. It has frequently bred in the Zoological Gardens of London.

The SWAN GOOSE, Anseranas melanolema, found in Australia, has semipalmated feet, a knob on the head, long legs, and a form somewhat resembling the swan. It was formerly found in immense flocks in certain districts, and afforded a considerable part of the food of the natives, who struck it down with their spears. At present, it is chiefly confined to the northern parts of the island. Specimens have been in the London Zoological Gardens.

HUTCHINS'S GOOSE, A. Hutchinsi-called Mud Goose on Long Island-is twenty-five inches long; breeds along the Arctic Sea, and is common upon our coasts. Some have supposed it a hybrid between the Brant and Wild Goose. Mr. Linsley, in his Catalogue of the Birds of Connecticut, states that it is not unfrequently taken there in spring, and is called the Southern Goose, because it does not winter there.

The following are in the catalogue of the Smithsonian Institution: WHITE-HEADED GOOSE, A. cærulescens; found in North America: A. frontalis, interior of North America: WHITE-CHEEKED Goose, Bernicla leucopareia, west coast of North America: BLACK BRANT, B. nigricans, Pacific coast of North America; rare on the Atlantic coast: PAINTED GOOSE, Chloephaya canagica, Aleutian Islands.

These closely resemble the preceding group in their general conformation, and in the form of the bill. They all frequent fresh water, where they feed upon the worms, mollusca, and larvæ which they pick out of the mud. A considerable portion of their food, however, consists of vegetable matter, such as grass, roots, seeds, &c. They are gregarious in their habits, and generally migrate in large flocks. The males are larger than the females, and often adorned with beautiful colors, while the females are usually of a more uniform and sober tint. In winter, most of them resort to the borders of the sea.

They moult twice in the year, in June and November; in June, the males acquire the female plumage to a certain extent, but they regain their proper dress at the second moult, and retain it during the breeding season. The nest is usually placed on the ground among reeds and sedges. near the water, sometimes in holes or in hollow trees, but rarely among the branches. The eggs vary from about eight to fourteen in number, and the young are active from the moment of their exclusion, and soon take to the water, where they are as much at home as the old birds. As the flesh of ducks is greatly valued, immense numbers of the wild ones are shot or taken in other ways. In England large quantities are captured by decoys, consisting of a piece of water situated