190 THE LOG OF THE SUN 



the absence of any highly organised auditory 

 organ may result in reducing the effect of a steam- 

 engine whistle to an agreeable whisper! It is 

 thought that the vibrations are felt rather than 

 heard, in the sense that we use the word "hear"; 

 if one has ever had a cicada zizz in one's hand, 

 the electrical shocks which seem to go up the arm 

 help the belief in this idea. To many of us the 

 song of the cicada — softened by distance — will 

 ever be pleasant on account of its associations. 

 When one attempts to picture a hot August day 

 in a hay-field or along a dusty road, the drowsy 

 zee-ing of this insect, growing louder and more 

 accelerated and then as gradually dying away, 

 is a focus for the mind's eye, around which the 

 other details instantly group themselves. 



The apparatus for producing this sound is one 

 of the most complex in all the animal kingdom. 

 In brief, it consists of two external doors, capable 

 of being partly opened, and three internal mem- 

 branes, to one of which is attached a vibrating 

 muscle, which, put in motion, sets all the others 

 vibrating in unison. 



We attach a great deal of importance to the 

 fact of being educated to the appreciation of the 

 highest class of music. We applaud our Paderew- 

 ski, and year after year are awed and delighted 

 with wonderful operatic music, yet seldom is the 

 limitation of human perception of musical sounds 

 considered. 



