The Crickets 



re-teat,' with a slight pause between each." Scudder reminds us 

 that Burroughs has called this noise a " rhythmic beat ;" that 

 Thoreau called it "slumbrous breathing," and that Hawthorne 

 describes it as "audible stillness," and that he says, "if moon- 

 light could be heard it would sound like that." Fitch says that 

 the noise made by these crickets is an invitation to "treat treat 

 treat. ' ' 



Harrington has watched one of these concerts closely and 

 says, " An interesting feature of its concerts is one of which I 

 have not been able to find any mention in books accessible. 

 While the male is energetically shuffling together his wings, 

 raised almost vertically, the female may be seen standing just 

 behind him, and with her head applied to the base of the wings 

 evidently eager to get the full benefit of every note produced." 



thrrr -------------.__-_...__... 



thrrr 



b b b b b b b m b b b 



Fig. 234. Night song of the snowy tree cricket. (After Scudder.) 



Even the curious cave crickets of the genus Ceuthophilus 

 have a song. But they sing only by night and in cloudy 

 weather. C. ensiger makes five notes per second and these 

 have been recorded by Scudder as follows : 



brv chwf chwl chwl chwl chwl chwi chwl chwl chwi chwl 



Chwi chwl chwl chwi chwl chwl chwi chwi chwl chwl chwl 



Fig. 235. Song of the cave cricket Ceuthophilus ensiger. (After Scudder.) 



Why has no one ever worked up a full life history, with all 

 of its interesting details, of one of our commonest crickets ? 

 It is earnestly to be hoped that some good observer will answer 

 this conundrum with the following words: " Because it has been 

 left for me to do, and 1 purpose to do it as soon as possible." 



344 



