■AM TENANTS OF AN OLD FARM. 



basis of fact in the metaphor which nieaf^ures their life 

 by a few hours." 



"Thee amazes me, friend May field !" exclaimed 

 Aunt Hannah. " Thee is proving a veritable icono- 

 clast with thy entomology. First thee has taken out of 

 our mouths our life-long associations with the locusts, 

 and now thee destroys utterly our notions about the 

 Ephemera. I am glad thee has spared the good 

 Friend's lesson, at any rate.'' 



" The destruction of ancient errors is not usually a 

 grateful task, Aunt Hannah, especially when they are 

 Avell imbedded in the minds of people. They become, 

 by-and-by, as sacred as truth, and any disturbance of 

 them pains and irritates like the return of healthy cii'- 

 culation to a benumbed or frozen limb. However, as 

 there is no special interest or principle attacked in this 

 effort to bring in a true entomological nomenclature, I 

 hope that my friends will be sparing of their indigna- 

 tion. 



" What I began to say is this — the Cicadas enjoy but 

 a few days of life in the winged state, but in the case of 

 the periodical species they are largely compensated by 

 a remarkable length of life in their wingless and grub- 

 like form. Seventeen years the one species, thirteen 

 years the other, live underneath the ground. 1 can 

 think of no parallel case within the whole range of 

 natural history. In view of this amazing longevity one 

 may well be sparing of sympathy with the winged mu- 

 sicians over the brevity of their days. 



■' I^'t us trace their history from the deposit of the 



