NOTES ON THE LOCUSTIDÆ, WITH DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES

Extract

Whether they fill the listener with a train of happy thoughts, as Gilbert White says, or whether they produce a sadness because the days of summer are nearly gone, as Dr. Harris asserts, the songs of crickets and other Orthoptera have, nevertheless, the merit of always being interesting. An insect that can sing—that has something to say—even though it be the same, night after night, enjoys a sort of individuality, and this lon discussion of the Katydids and the quiet murmur of the tree crickets, constitute one of the chief charms of our summer evenings.