Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 4, 1802).djvu/199

173&#93; SWA be loosened. Although Bech- STEiN, Avho has famished us with this account, does not mention the distance at which the plants ought to stand ; yet their size appears to require considerable space, so that they may be, at the least, 12 inches apart, in every direftion. The silk, obtained from the seed-cap- sules of the Syrian Swallow-wort, is not only useful for stuffing pil- lows, spinning fine yarn, both by itself and mixed with cotton, ani- mal wool, and cod-silk, or the loose filaments of the cocoons ; but it also aftords a valuable material for manufacturing paper of a su- perior quality. Its stajks may be adt^antageously employed as sub- stitutes for hemp. In Canada, a brown sugar is extrafted, by eva- porating the juice of its flowers ; and, in Germany, the young tops are eaten as asparagus: hence, the assertion of some naturalists is erroneous, that the milky juice of this plant is of a poisonous quality. SWAN, or ylnas ci/gmts, L. an elegant bird of the goose kind, but much larger, and having a longer neck : there arc two varieties, namely : 1, The ferus. Wild, or Whist- ling-Swan, a bird of passage, which frequents the British coasts in hard winters, but does not breed : it is about 5 feet in length ; its body is white j it has a black semi-cylin- drical bill, and utters a remarkably shrill note. This variety abounds in North America, in Asia, and in the nortljern parts of Europe, where great numbers are caught by the inhabitants, to whom they afford a wholesome food : their eggs are very nutritious, and the skins and feathers furnish a warm clothing, especially for mutfs. U. The mamuetus, Tame, or SWA [^73 Mute Swan, is (next the Bus- TAun) the largest of the Britisii birds ; being upwards of 5 feet in length, and distinguished by its hissing noise. The bill is red, but the tip and sides are black : in young birds, the plumage is of an ash-colour, till the second year, af- ter which it becomes perfeftly Avhito. The tame Swan is equally remarkable for its longevity, at- taining frequently the age of 100 years, as well as for its uncommon strength; for instances have oc- curred, in which it has overpower- ed, and severely beaten, young ppople, lo years of age. The fe- male of this variety lays or 8 eggs, in the month of February, which she hatches within six weeks. The fitsh of the tame swan i.i very wholesome, and, in ancient times, formed a dish at every feast : at present, however, the young birds, or n/griets, only are eaten ; consi- derable numbers being fattened about Christmas, at Norwich ; where they are sold, at the exor- bitant price of one guinea eaclu Lastly, it was anciently believed that the swan, shortly before its death, sings in harmonious strains; but such error has probablv origi- nated from observing the Hight of these birds of passage, producing agreeable tunes, by the regular raj- tion of their wings. SWARD-CUITER, a machine employed for cutting the sward, or surface of the earth, so as to break every clod that might otherwise resist the a6tion of spiked rollers, or any similar implement of agri- culture. In the Letters and Papers of the Bath and Wfst of England So- ciety, we meet with an account of a Sward-cutter, invented by the Hon, Robert Sandilands, and whick