Night Noises 187 



find out the ridiculous disproportion between 

 Brer Frog and his voice. And he will never, 

 no matter how long he lives, forget his father's 

 comment upon a disappointing great man : 

 " O ! He 's a sort of bullfrog — sounds very 

 big until you see him." 



After June, the deluge — otherwise the 

 katydids. Their first song was important. 

 Countryside folk believe that three months 

 from the day of it, neither earlier nor later, 

 there will come killing frost. Where tobacco 

 is a money crop the frost date means much. 

 Wheat and tobacco were the money crops at 

 White' Oaks — hence a great comparing of 

 nofes as to when the first katydid was heard. 

 Katydids are not pretty, but look wiser than 

 King Solomon. They are long-legged, also 

 many legged, with longish, boat-shaped bodies, 

 and are bright grass-green all over. They 

 swarm all through the big new leaves, sleeping 

 the day around, to feed and sing at night. It 

 is almost a continuous singing, long drawn and 

 rasping, not shrill like the tree-toads', and of 

 a maddening monotony. It begins at dark 

 and lasts until after midnight. Poets who 

 sing the stillness of summer nights have cer- 

 tainly never heard katydids in July and August. 



Indeed throughout the later summer day is 

 stiller than night. Though the katydids lead 

 in number and volume of noise, tree-toads 



