62 RAMBLES OF 



rently dead, though susceptible at any time of reanima- 

 tion, by being very gradually stimulated by light and 

 heat. 



The little burrow under examination, when called to 

 observe the jumping mouse, proved to be made by the 

 merry musicians of the meadows, the field crickets, 

 acheta campestris. These lively black crickets are very 

 numerous, and contribute very largely to that general 

 song which is so delightful to the ear of the true lover of 

 nature, as it rises on the air from myriads of happy crea- 

 tures rejoicing amid the bounties conferred on them by 

 Providence. It is not a voice that the crickets utter, but 

 a regular vibration of musical chords, produced by nib- 

 bing the nervures of the elytra against a sort of network 

 intended to produce the vibrations. The reader will find 

 an excellent description of the apparatus in Kirby and 

 Spence's book, but he may enjoy a much more satisfac- 

 tory comprehension of the whole, by visiting the field 

 cricket in his summer residence, see him tuning his viol, 

 and awakening the echoes with his music. By such an 

 examination as may be there obtained, he may derive 

 more knowledge than by frequent perusal of the most 

 eloquent writings, and perhaps observe circumstances 

 which the learned authors are utterly ignorant of. 



Among the great variety of burrows formed in the 

 grass, or under the surfuce of the soil, by various ani- 

 mals and insects, there is one that I have often anxiously 

 and as yet fruitlessly explored. This burrow is formed 



