the first proprietor of the well-known inn, the Swan with
Two Necks, was a member of the Vintners’ Company.
No. 16 was the Royal swan-mark which had been used
from the reign of George the Third to August 1878, when
the three lower diamonds were discontinued.
The following, taken from ‘ The Field,’ August 9th, 1884,
gives the result of the last Swan-upping on the Thames:—
“ The Queen’s swanherd and the officials of the Vintners’
and Dyers’ Companies of the City of London have just
concluded their annual excursion upon the Thames for the
purpose of marking or £ nicking ’ the Swans and Cygnets in
the upper reaches of the river between Southwark Bridge
and Henley. There were 40 Swans and 2 Cygnets between
London and Ditton, 39 Swans and 12 Cygnets between Ditton
and Staines, 65 Swans and 25 Cygnets between Staines and
Bray, and 123 Swans and 24 Cygnets between Bray and
Henley. The total number of Swans was 267 and Cygnets
63. Of these the Queen claims 176 Swans and 46 Cygnets;
the Vintners’ Company, 48 Swans and 12 Cygnets; and the
Dyers’ Company, 43 Swans and 5 Cygnets. The number
of the ‘ inland ’ birds—those which have strayed up the
tributaries of the Thames—has yet to be ascertained.”
In the language of swanherds, the male Swan is called a
Cob, the female a Pen : these terms refer to the comparative
size and grade of the two sexes; the young, during their
first year, are called Cygnets; during the second, Grey-
birds ; afterwards, their plumage being perfect, White Swans.
The black tubercle at the base of the beak is called the
berry, and a Swan without any mark on the beak is said to
be clear-billed.
For a reference to the various statutes, laws, orders, &c.,
on Swans and swan-marks, see the article Swan, written by
Mr. Serjeant Manning, in the Penny Cyclopaedia, from
which the Author has made some short extracts.
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