202 Mr. C. H. Goodman’s Notes on the House-cricket. 
not, however, appear to retain their hold to the sides of a glass 
bottle, for if placed in one, and it is slowly turned round, they 
either slip down the ascending side, or, if carried up, fall over 
on their backs. 
Sete.—At the end of the abdomen are a pair of long sete, 
tapering processes directed outward and slightly upward, and 
are well developed even in the early stages. They are beset with 
long tactile hairs externally, while inside they are hollow, and 
are lined with a delicate membrane, and if cut while the insect 
is fresh will be found to be filled with liquid, which is probably 
blood, and which would serve to nourish the organs they bear. 
In addition to the before mentioned long tubular hairs of touch 
there are near the base on the inner side a number of short 
flattened hairs. These latter form a little group, arranged in 
irregular rows, increasing in size as they recede from the body. 
They are nearly erect, and are slightly concavo-convex, the 
hollow side facing inwards. They are probably scent-organs. 
The ovipositor is carried slightly raised. It is rigid at the base, 
and does not appear to have any capacity for being inserted 
vertically. It starts from the lower side of the abdomen at the 
penultimate segment, and is half an inch long. It is divided 
vertically, and the two halves, which are not united, form, when 
placed face to face, a complete tube, through which the eggs are 
passed. A transverse section shows that each half of this tube 
is in itself unsymmetrical, being composed of two unequal-sized 
pipes, the free side of each being extended into a thin wing. 
The larger pipe is the lower one, and between it and the smaller 
upper one is a distinct dark rod, the nature of which I have been 
unable to detect. Down each pipe a branch of the trachew can 
be traced. The tip is enlarged, pointed, and quite solid, but the 
extreme end of each half is divided laterally into two lips which 
act like fingers, and assist in the deposition of the eggs. The 
lower one is thin and flat, while the upper one is larger and 
strengthened with ribs running lengthways. The appearance of 
the outer integument under a + in. shows a rounded tile-like 
marking or rows of imbricated scales. 
This terminates my notes, which I have restricted to the 
house-cricket, but much light might be shed on its history by a 
study of allied species, especially some of the exotic forms, in a 
living, or at all events freshly-killed, condition; and I regret 
that the circumstances of the case prevent my gaining more 
information in this manner. 
It may appear to some of you that the devotion of much time 
to the study of so trivial a creature is unworthy of busy men and 
women, and that the slight information gained is useless, and 
therefore no compensation for it; but I would remind you of 
Charles Kingsley’s words, when he claimed, even for the most 
