by two other birds
which were fresh for the labor. Working in succession, these birds
carried their companion to a rock some distance from the shore. When
the hunter endeavored to approach the rock, yet others of the species
seized the cripple and bore him far beyond reach.

Although too much value must not be given to the numerous anecdotes
concerning the sagacity of water fowl, the great mass of these stories,
as compared with the poverty of the anecdotes concerning the
better-known barnyard creatures, seems to establish the fact that their
intelligence is much greater than that of the land birds. This
superiority can probably be attributed to the fact that their life
requires much more definite adaptation of means to ends than in the
simpler conditions which are met by the forms which dwell in the fields.
The circumstances of their life are something like those of the seals
among mammals. They have to do with the conditions of the air, the land,
and the water; and as they generally undertake long migrations, the
range of the things they have to accommodate themselves to is great, and
the effect of their labor is decidedly educative.

[Illustration: Some Recent Additions to the Poultry Yard:
Wood Duck, China Goose, Australian Swan, Canada Goose]

As yet, from the great number of species of water fowl man has really
domesticated but two characteristic groups, the species of geese and of
ducks. Swans have been brought to a state where they tolerate the
presence of man, though they rarely establish any really intimate
relations with him. Some other species, as, for instance, the grebe,
have been taught to dwell about the homes of man, accepting food from
his hands. It is likely that more of these water fowl would have come
into human associations were it not for the fact that they are naturally
migratory, and when, after a season of domestication, they join a
passing flock, they never return to the place where they have been kept.

[Illustration: Swans]

The swan, like the peacock, has been bred for ornament rather than for
use. In fact, the bird has no other merit than its exceeding grace.
We cannot believe that much pains was ever taken with this creature to
break up the migratory instincts which are common in the wild kindred
species. We have to suppose that the bird in its pristine form was
without the impulse to undertake distant journeys in the winter
season, or that it abandoned ancient