THE HOUSE CRICKET. 165 



year, within the habitations of man; and warmth 

 being one of the principal objects of their residence 

 indoors, the Crickets generally show their judgement 

 by taking up their abode in the neighbourhood of the 

 kitchen fire. Here they burrow in the mortar be- 

 tween the bricks, and here also they lay their eggs, 

 and the young larvse may be observed running about 

 upon the hearth along with their parents during the 

 whole winter. They are nocturnal in their habits, or 

 at all events are most active at night, and it is rarely 

 that the chirping song of the male is heard until the 

 bustle of the day is over, and the kitchen becomes 

 quiet; then he ventures out upon the clean-swept 

 hearth, and sings his fill. In the hottest summer 

 weather many of the crickets seem to quit the houses, 

 and take up their abode in the gardens, where they 

 probably reside in crevices of the walls ; the song of 

 the male may often be heard in the open air in still 

 summer evenings, and I have even heard one chirping 

 lustily on the house-top. They do not, however, all 

 remove into the open air during the summer, for my 

 kitchen has swarmed with crickets of all sizes, from 

 the youngest larva to the perfect insect, the whole 

 year round. When in the house they eat the small 

 fragments of food, and especially the crumbs of bread, 

 which are generally to be found in plenty upon the 

 kitchen hearth, and perhaps the presence of this 

 abundance of nourishment may be an additional in- 

 ducement for their selection of that apartment for 

 their residence. If a few bits of bread be thrown 

 down upon a hearth which is frequented by these 

 creatures in any numbers, the morsels are soon sur- 

 rounded by a hungry crowd, each member of which 

 seeks to obtain as much as he can for his own share. 



