126 



Agassiz {he. cit. p. 260) discusses the various ways in which the different 

 kinds of turtles get rid of the older layers of the epidermis. He mentions 

 certain species of fresh-water turtles, among them M. jiseiid()<jeo{/rapMca in 

 which he observed in the spring the uppermost layer of the dermal plates 

 to be cast off at once as one continuous, thin, mica-like scale all over the 

 plate. In a number of very young specimens of M. <jeograp]dca taken at 

 Lake Maxinkuckee, the outer layer of the epidermis was lifted up from the 

 underlying layers by a quantity of fluid. This was preparatory, no 

 doubt, to the casting ofi of the epidermal layer. 



The (tryllid.k of Indiana. By W. S. Blatchley, A. M., Terre Haute, 

 Ind. 



The Gryllidw or crickets are, in the main, distinguished from other Or- 

 thopterous insects, by having the wing covers fiat above and bent abruptly 

 downward at the sides ; the antennae long, slender, and many jointed : 

 the tarsi, or feet, three jointed, without pads between the claws ; the ear 

 situated on the tibia of the fore leg ; and the abdomen bearing a pair of 

 jointed cerci or stylets at the end. 



The ovipositor of the female, when present, is long, usually spear-shaped, 

 and consists, apparently, of two pieces. Each of these halves, however, 

 when closely examined, is seen to be made up of two pieces so united as to 

 form a groove on the inner side, so that when the two halves are fitted to- 

 gether, a tube is produced, down which the eggs pass to the repository in 

 the earth or twig, fitted to receive them. 



The inner wings are, for the most part, short, weak, and comparatively 

 useless as flying organs, though, sometimes, they are nearly twice as long 

 as the outer pair. Like their nearest relatives, the grasshoppers and katy- 

 dids, crickets travel mostly by leaps and, in the course of time, their hind 

 femora have thus become greatly enlarged. 



The chirps or love calls of the different species of criclcets make up the 

 greater part of that ceaseless thrill which fills the air, usually at night, from 

 mid- August until after frost. These sounds are made only by the males, 

 and are not vocal, as most persons suppose ; but are produced by rubbing 

 the veins in the middle of one wing cover upon those of the other. The 

 peculiar structure of this stridulating organ of the male, as well as the high 



