AS soon as the winter commences in the North, the wild fowl begin their southward migration. The first to arrive are the blue-winged teal; next come the snipe and woodcock; then the green-winged teal and the varieties of the duck tribe; after these the geese, followed lastly, by the magnificent wild swans.

The bays on the Grulf of Mexico often swarm with them, and I remember being once on a steamboat which plied between Gralveston and Houston, and which ran aground in the night at the head of Gralveston Bay. In the morning, upon going on deck, we were all astonished to see vast numbers of swans around us, and, as far as as we could roughly guess their numbers, we estimated that at least two thousand were in sight from the deck.

They feed principally upon the water-weed, Valisneria Americana, worms, insects, &c, but I believe never touch fish. They are exceedingly watchful; and he is a careful stalker who can get within shot; but many are killed by gunners hidden on some point of land between two bays or other pieces of water.

When shooting ducks near Anahuac, at the head of Cralveston Bay, I killed a very heavy swan, and to escape the fatigue of carrying it, I gave the bird to an old German woman, who had as much idea of the art of cooking as a pig.