INSECT MINSTRELS. 351 



Summer heat, that is 75 Fahrenheit. A species of 

 Cicada is kept by the Japanese in little cages of 

 beautiful construction, just as song-birds are by us. 

 I have seen these cricket-cages for sale in Nice. 



It is affirmed that the Cicada occurs in the New 

 Forest, and that the insect has even been captured 

 and identified. There is something incongruous about 

 Cigales in Hampshire : why not fire-flies in Hyde 

 Park, or humming-birds in Hoxton? Mr. Kirby 

 informs me that the Cicada of the New Forest is 

 small, and does not chirp loud. 



While I write of insect sounds, one point occurs 

 to me ; a point not settled yet. We are all familiar 

 with the soothing murmur of the myriad bees that 

 swarm among the greenish yellow blossoms of a 

 Linden tree. You may hear the same sound if you 

 stand beneath a Judas tree (Cercis) in April when 

 the branches are lined with red. By the way, 

 " Judas y is here a corruption of " Judaea." Now this 

 insect buzz is heard at times when no insect can be 

 seen. Kesting in a shady spot not far from where 

 I lived, we have listened to this Slimmer hum, and yet 

 completely failed to ascertain the cause of it. The 

 sharpest eye could not discern a winged thing of any 

 sort or size. We might be tempted to suppose that 

 the insects which make this noise are too far off to 

 be seen by the naked eye : but in this case their 

 buzzing could surely not be heard. Nor were they 

 hidden in the sod, for I examined that carefully. I 

 came to the conclusion that a better naturalist might 

 solve this riddle, which is beyond my powers. But 

 Gilbert White also failed to explain this apparently 

 simple matter. Jefferies is here at fault, he touches 



