by no means a common insect in many other coun- 

 tise. 



As their cheerful summer cry cannot but draw 

 the attention of a naturalist, I have often gone down 

 to examine the economy of these^rj///, and study their 

 mode of life : but they are so shy and cautious, that 

 it is no easy matter to get a sight of them ; for, feel- 

 ing a person's footsteps as he advances, they stop 

 short in the midst of their song, and retire backward 

 nimbly into their burrows, where they lurk till all 

 suspicion of danger is over. 



At first we attempted to dig them out M^ith a 

 spade, but without any great success; for either we 

 could not get to the bottom of the hole, which often 

 terminated under a great stone; or else, in breaking 

 up the ground, we inadvertently squeezed the poor 

 insect to death. Out of one so bruised we took a 

 multitude of eggs, which were long and narrow, of a 

 yellow colour, and covered with a very tough skin. 

 By this accident we learned to distinguish the male 

 from the female; the former of which is shining 

 black, with a golden stripe across his shoulders ; the 

 latter is more dusky, more capacious about the abdo- 

 men, and carries a long sword-shaped weapon at her 

 tail, which probably is the instrument with which she 

 deposits her eggs in their receptacles. 



Where violent methods will not avail, more gentle 



means will often succeed ; and so it proved in the 



present case ; for though a spade be too boisterous 



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