New Jerfey, Raccoon. 69 



Gryllus campeftns, or the field- cricket: 

 They lay ten inches deep ; they were quite 

 torpid, but as foon as they came into a warm 

 place they revived and were quite lively, 

 In fummer I have found thefe crickets in 

 great plenty in all parts of North America 

 where I have been. They leaped about on 

 the fields, and made a noife like that of our 

 common houfe-crickets, fo that it would 

 be difficult to diftinguifh them by their 

 chirping. They fometimes make fo great a 

 noife, that it caufes pain in the ears, and 

 even two people cannot understand each 

 other. In fuch places where the rattle- 

 fnakes live, the field -crickets are very dis- 

 agreeable, and in a manner dangerous, for 

 their violent chirping prevents the warning, 

 which that horrid fnake gives with its rat- 

 tle, from reaching the ear, and thus deprives 

 one of the means of avoiding it. I have 

 alreadv mentioned that they likewife winter 

 fometimes in chimnies*. Here they ly all 

 winter in the ground, but at the beginning 

 of March, as the air was grown warm, they 

 came out of their holes, and began their 

 rnufic. though at firft it was but very faint 

 and rarely heard. When we were forced 

 on our travels to deep in uninhabited places, 

 the crickets had got into the folds of our 

 E 3 clothes, 



* See page 1 c , 



