360 TENANTS OP AN OLD FARM 



tliey lights on a young fruit tree or sapliu'' they kills 

 hit. But it don't do much harm in ordinar' fur to trim 

 off the outer twigs uv trees. The trees make wood 

 ag'in, an er not much the wuss fur wear. Ther 's a 

 nation sight o' huzzin', an' cz Mr. Maytield says, the 

 woods does hev a sort o' rag-tag look, but it 's more in 

 sight an' souu' than in solid harm, I 'm a thinkin'. In 

 fac', ther 's a good 'eal more noise 'u execution in an 

 army of harvest-flies, jes' like an ole-fashioned militia 

 trainin' sham battle." 



"• That is very true," I said, " and I 'm much obliged 

 to you, Hugh, for saving me the trouljle of saying it. 

 So you see, Miss Abby, that whatever general princi- 

 ple may lie beyond the problem that you started, it has 

 no basis of facts to rest upon in the case of the Cicada. 

 It is chiefly an example of an iui-scientific use of the 

 imagination, excited by that old and false name ' locusts.' 

 Shakespeare has said that ' a rose by any other name 

 would smell as sweet ;' but there is a great deal more 

 ill a name than the poet seems to have thought. To 

 (piote the language of one of my entomological friends, 

 suppose that roses were popularly called by the name 

 of that well-known plant that spreads its broad leaves 

 along the wooded parts of our Run — the ' skunk-cab- 

 bage ' — what lover would dare to present to his mistxess 

 a bouquet composed of flowers bearing such an un- 

 savory appellation ? Or what lad}-, if she had such a 

 bouquet actuall}' presfuled to her, would trust her nos- 

 trils within a foot of it ? Xow, because we in America 

 have chosen to call what are, properl}^ speaking, ' Cica- 



