6 
BY THE WAYSIDE 
lieved, dove under water and staid 
buried in the muddy bottom until spring ! 
They saw swallows flying hither and 
thither over the ponds in quest of in¬ 
sects and darting down every little 
once in a while to capture an insect at 
the surface of the water. Then one fine 
day in fall, lo and behold no swallow 
was to be seen in the whole country¬ 
side ! Accordingly they must have all 
disappeared beneath the water. Many 
many years the people believed this and 
it was not until two Italians set out to 
prove this theory. They captured a 
swallow and held it under water. Of 
course the poor bird died in a few min¬ 
utes, but its death proved once and for 
all that swallows cannot and do not 
spend the winter at the bottom of the 
ice locked lakes and ponds. Yet, so 
firmly did people believe this theory 
that many of them refused to be con¬ 
vinced, and I suppose some ignorant 
people do not know any better even 
today. 
The conclusions that bats were not 
birds and that the swallows could not 
live under water put naturalists at a 
loss for a while. It was not long before 
they studied birds a little more care¬ 
fully. They differentiated the species 
and found out at what places they were 
to be found at different times of the 
year. For many generations now, nren 
have been studying the problems of mi¬ 
gration. Given localities have been 
studied intensively and also larger 
areas have been observed. In Germany 
the local teachers have organized and 
report their observations to central 
workers. In this country, the U. S. Bu¬ 
reau of Biological survey (Washington, 
D. C.) is the central body for reports 
on bird migration. The large number 
of observers sending their records from 
so widely separated localities gives the 
experts of this bureau exceptionally fa¬ 
vorable opportunities for the study of 
migration. 
Data covering large areas is now at 
our disposal and so we can tell much 
more about, the travels of our feathered 
friends. Each spring the data show 
how fast and how far each species 
travels northward, and again the re¬ 
turn in fall can be shown by reports 
from successive stations. Thus we 
know indeed that birds travel, some of 
them for long distances and for a good¬ 
ly share of the year. We even know 
in a general way what routes a given 
species follows. We know their sum¬ 
mer home and their winter home. Still 
no method of observation that has been 
made extensively has shown us what 
routes the birds from a given locality 
follow. That is to say, what we know 
concerning the route of migration and 
distribution applies to species and not 
to individuals. How much our notions 
of migration will change when we can 
follow the movements of individual 
birds, as we hope we some day may do, 
we cannot venture even to guess. 
A word of apology is necessary con¬ 
cerning the delay in issuing By the 
Wayside this fall. Under the division 
of labor effected some years ago, it be¬ 
came the duty of the secretary to look 
after all subscriptions to By the Way- 
side. Last spring, it was found impos¬ 
sible to secure the services of a compe¬ 
tent secretary, which condition lasted 
until just recently. Hence our mailing 
lists were not made up. It is hoped 
that from now on, the issues will ap¬ 
pear regularly. 
