THE VOICE OF ANIMALS 
31 
in ratio to its enlarged size, its cries could be 
heard half over the world. 
A number of insects, such as the locusts 
and crickets, produce sounds by means of 
stridulating organs that work upon the principle 
of a bow and fiddle. 
Although the “ song ” of these creatures is 
of a very high-pitched and penetrating nature, 
yet the Indians of the Amazon valley have 
for long made a practice of keeping the former 
in cages in order to listen to their chirping. 
The Japanese also indulge in a similar 
practice in regard to crickets. These curious 
pets, known as Fuku-Moustu, or Happy Bell, 
are kept in small and exquisitely made wooden 
cages which are hung up in a room in the 
manner of a bird cage. As, however, the 
crickets only give full vent to their musical 
performance during the hours of darkness, 
it is difficult to understand how their vocal 
entertainment can be appreciated unless the 
listener be content to remain awake half the 
night. 
Among the beetles, that known as the death- 
watch or death-tick, a species that plays such 
havoc by burrowing narrow galleries through 
the timber of houses or in old furniture, gives 
rise to a curious ticking sound by knocking 
its hard mandibles against the wooden walls 
