I 



WHO CAN MIMIC A CHAT? 161 



heron to stand or wade at will in water of quite 

 a depth; the long neck, drawn in while watch- 

 ing, ready to send the long, slender sharp point- 

 ed bill home with force at the crucial moment 

 these are not happen-sos, but are products of 

 hundreds of centuries devoted solely to their 

 way of seeking sustenance. 



If the breeze which is now blowing so briskly, 

 so blithely from the southwest would only bring 

 with it a fain, one which would last for a day 

 or longer, joy would take the place of despair 

 in the soul of many a farmer hereabouts. Six 

 inches and more of rainfall is the deficiency 

 since April first and much of it in June, when 

 the crops did need it most. Jupiter Pluvius, 

 get onto thy job! Get thy clouds massed, thy 

 winds in action. Let the heavens leak in cop- 

 ious quantity. Then unto thee shall we give 

 credit due. 



11 Cr-cr-cr purr iti chee cr-chk" 

 pshaw, who can mimic a chat? I thought to 

 give his vocabulary but would have to be an ex- 

 pert in phonetic sounds and write lightning 

 shorthand did I get the half of what he is say- 

 ing to me, to his mate, or to the infinity of 

 space, I know not which ; perhaps to himself to 

 hear himself talk. A ventriloquist of high de- 

 gree, he seems now near, now far, but has not 

 moved a foot. 



11 B28 



