Sbrffte»1Flotes 



tened with delight to a fine burst of joy- 

 ous twittering from the butcher's throat. 

 Upon MacGillivray's theory of the pro- 

 duction of bird-song there is a sound basis 

 for believing that a shrike is capable of 

 making good music; but I have no faith 

 in that theory, Huxley to the contrary 

 notwithstanding. The singing shrike was 

 really a mocking-bird that had strayed far 

 northward ; and it did not sing with a tiny 

 valve far down in its windpipe — it did not 

 sing at all, but whistled, just as a boy 

 whistles, only its glottis served instead of 

 puckered lips. The song-bird has no 

 vocal cord; the little membranous valve 

 described by MacGillivray modifies the 

 avian voice, but it does not make the 

 sound. 



But here again is the bone-yard of the 

 scientists, where walk the ghosts that will 

 pounce upon those famous dissecters of 

 bird-song organs as soon as they have paid 

 Charon his ferry money. I am guilty to 

 a degree, and must in turn take my pun- 

 ishment. Just now, however, I shall steer 

 wide of any discussion likely to aggravate 

 137 



