280 fffje artien's Storj. 



song, which seemed everywhere but the exact 

 spot whence it proceeded. There is another in- 

 sect, not a troubadour, who adds his harsh note 

 to the orchestration of the hot nights of mid- 

 summer and early fall. His stridulation pos- 

 sesses the characteristic rasping of the katydid 

 tribe, but is less intense. On cool nights he is 

 silent, but as soon as the nights become warm 

 he commences to file his saw until dawn. 



Of all familiar insect sounds, the voice of the 

 cicada is the strongest, that of CEcanthus fascia- 

 tus the most summery, the green leaf-cricket's the 

 most plaintive, and the katydid's the harshest. 

 The general effect of all these minstrels, save 

 that of the katydid, is a soothing one. The 

 bird-songs of spring are happy, merry, buoyant, 

 I may say, wakeful a triumphant major of 

 song. The insect-chorus of fall is an ode rather 

 than a lyric a song pitched in a minor key, 

 rising and falling amid the lengthening shadows 

 and gathering haze of autumn. 



Latter midsummer and early fall bring a 

 fresh color-surprise to the garden. It is the sea- 

 son of the phloxes, tritomas, helianthuses, the 

 great hydrangeas, the Japanese anemones, and 

 the stately autumnal flowers the gathering and 

 concentration of months of warmth and sun- 

 shine. One expects much of the late flora, it 



