322 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



always done. Swiss and Austrians are colonizing northern Italy; 

 Danish immigration into Germany is common enough. Wherever 

 we turn we discover a constantly increasing population seeking an 

 outlet southward. The ethnic result has been therefore this: that 

 to-day the Teuton overlies the Alpine race, while it in turn en- 

 croaches upon, submerges the Mediterranean type. Thus do eco- 

 nomic laws, viewed in a broader way, come to the support of ethnic 

 facts. Other problems concerning population are immediately sug- 

 gested. These we shall consider in the next and final paper of our 

 series. 



THE KING OF THE WOODS. 



By NORMAN ROBINSON. 



YERY few persons ever visit the southern portion of the United 

 States and become at all familiar with its woodland life with- 

 out being captivated by that prince of singers, the mocking bird. 

 Not only as a musician, but in general " smartness," he is far and 

 away ahead of anything else that flies. He is the " Yankee " among 

 birds. In vivacity, in cleverness, in a quick and dexterous use of his 

 small but brilliant brain, it would be hard to point out his equal. 

 And when in the springtime the woods resound with his clear, flute- 

 like, and exultant notes, even the man, if such there be, " who hath 

 no music in his soul " would find it hard to resist the contagious good 

 humor of his glad and gleeful song. 



And yet the mocking bird (Mimus polyglottus) is incorrectly 

 named. He is by no means a natural mimic. Half a dozen birds 

 could be mentioned that in this particular far surpass him. This 

 may seem a very strange thing to say, in view of the stories current 

 so abundantly illustrating and emphasizing this supposed gift. 



Professor Chandler, in a notable case in a Boston court, once 

 remarked that it was practically impossible for most people to tell 

 the truth even if they tried. Especially is this the case in observing 

 scientific phenomena by persons not trained in that special field. 

 Imagination often play3 strange tricks with the recording cameras 

 in such excited brains. As an illustration bearing upon the case in 

 point : A lady had a beautiful grove of young oaks in her front yard 

 of several acres in extent. It was fairly alive with mocking birds. 

 It was in the springtime at their first nesting season, and many of the 

 young birds were beginning to try their wings. One morning Jim, 

 the lazy old tomcat, was missed from his accustomed corner on the 

 sunny porch, and soon was heard a chorus of confused and stridulent 

 cries issuing from the back part of the grove, and there came Jim 



