74 Lessons in Nature Study. 



have large claws, so that they can dig down into the earth 

 just as a mole does. See the short stiff hairs on his hind 

 legs. If you look closely, you will find on one of his wing- 

 veins some short stiff hairs also. When he scrapes his leg 

 across his wing, we hear the noise which we call chirping. 

 Put the cricket into this dark box and perhaps he will chirp 

 for us. Some say, "Te-weet y te-weet" some say, "Katy-did, 

 katy-did" 



The crickets, katydids, grasshoppers, and walking-sticks, 

 all belong to the same family, because their wings are 

 straight. They are straight-winged insects. We will call 

 them cousins. 



Let us write down what we have learned about the 

 cricket. 



Sometimes crickets live about houses. In old houses 

 they often live around the fireplace. Did you ever hear 

 the story of Old Dame Hicket ? 



"Old Dame Hicket 

 Had a wonderful cricket 



That lived in a hole by the fender, 

 And when he came out 

 He would dance all about 

 On his hind legs, so tall and so slender. 



" This pleased the old dame, 

 So she gave him a name, 



Little Peter it was, you must know; 

 And she fed him with crumbs 

 'Twixt her fingers and thumbs, 



Then into his hole he would go. rt 



Was this a true story ? Draw the cricket as you think he 

 looked in this story. 



The poem To an Insect, by Oliver Wendell Holmes, and 

 Dickens' Cricket on the Hearth, may be read to the class. 



The Bee Family. 



To-day we will study a new family of insects. These are 

 busy little creatures, always working. They are great build- 



