526 The Eastern Snow-Bird. [July, 
Hodges too. At any rate, who will riddle us this concerning the 
pedigree of our Junco hyemalts ? 
Junco a first ancestor had, 
Or great original, rather ; 
If you’ll point out, you’ll make us glad, 
Our Junco’s great-grand-father. 
Authors give several species of Junco, as follows, the first 
three being by some considered as mere varieties : /. hyemalts, 
our eastern snow-bird, /. aikeni, the white-winged, and /. ore- 
gonus, the Oregon snow-bird; besides these are //. caniceps, the 
chestnut-backed, and /. annectens, the chestnut-sided snow-bird. 
This much we must credit to Mr. J. Martin Trippe, as cited 
though hardly accepted by Dr. Coues. Are these all good spe- 
cies? I cannot go into the controversy, but will ask permission 
to adduce the following: 
Once upon a time a patronymic dispute arose. With a ge0o- 
graphical range so extraordinary as to preclude the idea of dis- 
persion from a common center, there were the Smiths, and the 
Smithes, and the Smyths, and the Smythes, and the Schmits, and 
the Smids, and the Smeds. That there were differences also be- 
sides the names, was noticeable, such as black eyes, and blue 
eyes, and gray eyes, and hazel eyes. Still it was observable that 
what of difference there was, was best appreciated by themselves. 
But had these slight differences been overlooked, and the re 
similarities not been neglected; and in other ways, had the mod- 
ern scientific methods been then in vogue, it might have appeared 
that in all this diversity there was not anything that had passed 
the varietal stage; that a nascent species had not been attained ; 
in fact, with respect to the names, it had been suspected that really 
they were but one and the same cognominal. But an event hap- 
pened which set all to take the matter in hand seriously ; it came 
out that long agoa great ancestor had died and left “ untold 
wealth” which was waiting the proper claimants. Discussion 
now brought out the fact that these patronymics were but evolu- 
tional variations of the same family name, which had been brought 
about by modifications of descent, the simple effect of time and 
circumstance, or in more modern phrase, the environment > for 
all had descended from one great ancestral stirp—the old, original, 
genuine Johannes Smithius, vulg. John Smith. 
Perhaps we may yet decide as satisfactorily the stirp of the 
Juncos ; meanwhile we lean to the belief that a /usco hyemalts 
was the grand ancestor of the whole tribe. 
. 
