THE DEATH-\?ATCH. 21 3 



Vulgar notion with respect to its noise. 



sembling the ticking of a watch. From this it 

 has its name, for, whenever this faculty is ex- 

 erted, it is esteemed portentive of death to some 

 one of the family in the house where it is heard. 

 It is chiefly in the advanced state of sprirg that 

 these insects commence their noise, which is no 

 more than a call or signal by which they are mu- 

 tually attracted to each other; and it. may be 

 considered as analogous to the call of birds. 

 This noise does not arise from the voice., bm 

 froiii the insects beating on any hard substance 

 with the shield or fore-part of the head. The 

 general number of successive distinct strokes is 

 from seven to nine, or eleven. These are given 

 in pretty quick succession, and are repeated at 

 uncertain intervals ; and in old houses, where 

 the insects are numerous, they may be beard, if 

 the weather be warm, almost every hour in the 

 day. The noise exactly resembles that made by 

 beating with the nail on a table. The insect 

 being difficult to discover, from its obscure 

 greyish brown colour, nearly resembling that of 

 decayed wood, it is not always easy to say fixwa 

 what exact spot the sound proceeds. 



Mr. Stackhouse, as we read in the Phil. Trans. 

 Vol. 33. observed carefully the manner of its 

 beating. He says the insect raises itself on its 

 hinder legs, and, with the body somewhat in- 

 clined, beats its head with great force and agility 

 against the place on which it stands. One of 

 tfevui, <on a sedge- bottomed chair, exerted so 



