348 CHAPTER XLIX. 



To dig out a Mole Cricket is an almost hopeless 

 task, but I have heard that they may be captured in 

 this way : You insert into the hole a halm of grass, 

 so as to tickle the Cricket. He loses his temper. 

 Musicians frequently have " la tete tres pres du 

 bonnet " : did not Handel smash his violin on the head 

 of a man who missed an accidental ? He catches 

 hold of the straw, and sticks to it so tight that you 

 can draw him out of the hole. My son tells me that 

 after rain he has found the Mole Cricket singing 

 close to the entrance of his burrow. He can then be 

 easily captured. Perhaps he finds the basement of 

 his dwelling damp in rainy weather, and moves to the 

 upper story.* 



To Mr. W. F. Kirby I am indebted for the 

 following note : " It is said that if you throw water 

 on the ground in the evening, and cover the spot 

 with a board, you will find Mole Crickets underneath 

 next morning, if there are any about." 



What a persevering performer is the Cricket ! His 

 repertoire is limited, for he knows but one single tune. 

 Indeed, his compass is also small, for he has but one 

 single note. It is said that no insect has more than 

 one note. Most song-birds have two or three : the 

 nightingale alone has four or five notes. The Cricket 

 makes up for these defects by abundant verve and 

 brio. His little score is marked fff, and the pace 

 is fast and furious. Whenever the spirit moves him 



* The Mole Cricket I believe always sings close to the entrance of 

 his burrow. My sons capture it with the greatest ease, thus : Approach 

 on tiptoe with bull's eye lantern ; when sure of the position, cut off the 

 retreat into the burrow by plunging a spade into the earth ; the cricket 

 is then easily taken. T. H. 



