age, through her grand music crucible, and the precious 
essence given to the birds. 
Though the birds expressed themselves vocally ages 
before there were human ears to hear them, it is hardly to 
be supposed that their early singing bore much resem- 
blance to the bird music of to-day. It is not at all likely 
that on some fine morning, too far back for reckoning, the 
world was suddenly and for the first time flooded with 
innumerable bird songs, and that ever since birds have 
sung as they then sang and as they sing now. There 
were no reporters to tell us when the birds began to sing, 
but the general history of human events chronicles the 
interest with which birds and bird-singing have been 
regarded by the nations of the past, leaving us to infer 
that when men and birds became acquainted, the birds 
were already singing. 
It would seem, then, that our bird music is a thing of 
growth, and of very slow growth. The tall walkers and 
squawkers having gradually acquired the material ma- 
chinery for song, and the spirit of song being pent up 
within them, they were ultimately compelled to make 
music, to sing. 
Dare we hazard a few crude conjectures as to the 
details of this growth? Every musical student is aware 
that there are certain tones which, if produced at the 
same moment, harmonize, merge one into another, with 
most pleasing effect. Our scale of eight tones represents 
the order of intervals throughout the whole realm of 
