THE MOLE CRICKET. 
297 
situation. Others, on the contrary, think there is some- 
thing ominous and melancholy in the sound, and use every 
endeavour to banish this insect from their houses. 
Ledelius tells us of a woman who was very much incom- 
moded by crickets, and tried, but in vain, every method of 
banishing them from her house. She at last, accidentally 
succeeded ; for having one day invited several guests to her 
house, where there was a wedding, in order to increase the 
festivity of the entertainment, she procured drums and 
trumpets to entertain them. The noise of these was so 
much greater than what the little animals were used to, 
that they instantly forsook their situation, and were never 
heard in that mansion more. 
But of all the cricket kind, that which is called the Mole, 
Cricket is the most extraordinary. This animal is the 
largest of all the insects with which we are acquainted in this 
country, being two inches and an half in length, and three 
quarters of an inch in breadth. The colour is of a dusky 
brown ; and, at the extremity of the tail, there are two hairy 
excrescences, resembling, in some degree, the tail of a mouse, 
i he body consists of eight scaly joints, or separate folds, is 
brown on the upper part, and more deeply tinged below. 
The wings are long, narrow, and terminate in a sharp point, 
each having a blackish line running down it : however, when 
they are extended, they appear to be much broader than 
could at first sight be supposed. The shield of the breast 
is of a firm texture, of a blackish colour, and hairy. The 
fore-feet, which are this animal’s principal instruments of 
burrowing into the earth, are strong, webbed, and hairy ; 
it generally, however, runs backward; but it is commonly 
under ground, where it burrows even faster than a mole. 
It is thought also to be amphibious ; and capable of living 
under water, as well as under ground. 
Of all insects, this is the most detested by gardeners, as it 
chiefly resides in that ground which lies light, and where it 
finds sufficient plenty under the surface, Thus, in a single 
night’s time, it will run along a furrow which has been newly 
sown, and rob it of all its contents. Its legs are formed in 
such a manner, that it can penetrate the earth in every 
direction; before, behind, and above it. At night it ventures 
from its underground habitation, and, like the cricket, has 
its chirping call. 
Nothing can exceed the care and assiduity which these 
animals exhibit in the preservation of their young. Where- 
ever the nest is placed, there seems to be a fortification, 
avenues, and entrenchments, drawn round it: there are 
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