17 



of May. It is a dull, jarring, continuous cMrp, and may be heard at some 

 distance — something between the continuous cry of the house cricket and the 

 fern owl. 



Mr. Kirby says, "a Mole Ciicket was brought to a friend of his, then 

 (1780) a curate in Cambridgeshire, by a farmer, who informed him that one of 

 his workmen seeing a Jack-o-Lantem, pursued it, and knocked down the 

 insect in question." There seemed some doubt as to whether the Mole Cricket 

 is not sometimes luminous — from some of the authorities he had consulted — 

 but he (Dr. Bull) thought it could scarcely be the case or it would be more 

 generally known, and the singular insect more often found. So few people 

 here have seen it, that in all probability they are rare in this county, but Dr. 

 BuU knew of two localities where it certainly lived— one was in a bank by the 

 road side on the road leading to Burghill Portway, just bej'ond the little stream 

 which crosses the road. Here, he had several times tried to catch it in vain. He 

 heard them a quarter of a mile off and could get within a yard or two of the insect, 

 but, from the difficulty of making out the exact spot the sound proceeded from, 

 and the dulness of light, he could never get sight of it. 



One Mole Cricket had been foundin a manure heap in the yard of the gas 

 works in this city some years since, but he had never heard of another. He 

 should like to know whether any gentleman present could tell him whether the 

 insect, under any circumstances, became luminous. 



Elmes Y. Steele, Esq., thought not, or it would be better known. 



Flavell Edmunds, Esq., explained that the insect had been entrusted 

 to him on the condition of returning it to-morrow, so that there would not be 

 much opportunity of examining it with this view. 



Dr. BCLL said that Curtis, the naturalist, had suggested " to those who 

 are fond of petting mice and such smaU gear " that they should get a family of 

 Mole Crickets, and observe their ways and manners. If Mr. Saunders could find 

 the place in the bank of the river from which this one had come, perhaps he 

 might be able to get a few. It certainly would be a difficult prisoner to keep, 

 for it had powerful jaws, as well as claws, and bit through all sorts of roots that 

 came in the way of its bunowings with great ease. The Club were much 

 obliged to him for the opportunity of seeing the specimen he had lent them. 



The love of the Mole Cricket for water reminded one gentleman of an 

 invaluable receipt — sure and safe — to remove a domestic nuisance that must be 

 very general, if the sale of poisonous wafers can pay for their advertisements. 

 "We give it here entire, and since it is the fashion to specify numerically good 

 suggestions, and lest anyone should attempt to catalogue the bright ideas of the 

 Woolhope Club, we \vill call this one Xo. 10,101. 



