4 WAYS OF THE SIX-FOOTED 



the little fiddlers in the grass, the drummers in the 

 trees, and the pipers in the air. There is cheer in 

 their music, as well as restfulness. Their fugues 

 afford companionship, and at the same time inspire 

 in us a comfortable sense of isolation and peace. 



The subject of insect music should not be dealt 

 with as a purely scientific study, for it has been 

 closely connected with the poetry of the ages. A dis- 

 cussion of these little musicians would be incomplete 

 without reference to the impression they have made 

 upon the poet mind, which ever reflects, intensified, 

 the experiences of humanity. Among those poets 

 who really take us into the fields some have paid 

 tribute to our insect friends. But among the vast 

 hordes of insects only a few haA^e been chosen as fit 

 subjects for song. These favored ones are butterflies, 

 moths, flies, bees, fireflies, dragonflies, cicadas, grass- 

 hoppers, crickets, katydids, and beetles. Of these 

 twelve kinds of insects it will be noticed seven are 

 musicians, and are almost invariably mentioned in 

 connection with the sounds they make, as " the 

 buzzing fly," "the droning bee." All this proves 

 that our literary people are better at listening than 

 at seeing ; for to the naturalist there are many other 

 insects that press more deeply into the realm of poetry 

 than do these. 



