Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1888-08-18
ANIMALS AND MUSIC.
THE rUNefULNess or TINY LoIrER-
ERs or A SUMMERS pAv.

1Gusicsl Taste q Hiras- -Orchestrs es -
Assust Afterncss-sofs sounds 10 Ne
heard In the HsyAeid - Crickets ana
Katydid&
Some animalt abhor music, at least
come music; but most animals love music.
A COW likes nothing better than singing
and whistling, and her milk flows gladly
turns her head and kisses him with her
tongue. A dog. so far as know. hates
music, except singing and whistling. A
plano sets him ON edge, and . drum or fife
makes him howl. Horses, believe, love
martial music best. Every horse Is nat
urally war horse, and likes parade and
the dash of military life. Next to this
he is In his element running with
fire engine. / know OF no decent music
that he dislikcs. Cats. unlike dogs, like
pianos and organs. OF course, we un-
derstand that nearly all birds have some
musical taste. although few have real
ski. know Of but two real masters Of
song In our northern states, the bobollnk
and catbird; although there are many
more really sweet singers. The liquid,
silvery notes Of the bobolink are like the
dew Of the early. pure morning. One al
ways 0ShDClAt6o tucIu WttI WAttTlAlS 0kiu
the music of silver instruments. But the
catbird is the marvel of all musicians.
He Is able to do about what he will.
But what led mo to sit down TO write
was the music Of the insects--''tiny
loitcrers of summers day" II is mis-.
take to suppose the chief occupation Of
these dipteras and hymcnopteras Is eating
and working-it is making music. You
should 60 out In hsying time and sit down
on cock of hay in the middle Of the day;
and then again in the evening, and you
will, II you give yourself to listening,
have revealed to you u new world. No,
you must not be thinking Of other things.
Close your eyes and lay your head back on
the sweet hay. Therel Are you not now
conscious of several stratas Of music,
reaching far up into the skyf The upper
air Is full of bees--hornets in part, II may
be--and there are millions of them. Then
lower down are all sorts Of flies and work
ing bees, while In the trees and grass
there Is fully as vast number Of crickets,
katydids and other music makers. Now
you must open your ears as carefully as
you close your eyes, and listen attentively;
for l assure you there are myriads OF
sounds close by you that you never heard
Is it not so2 You are surprised. Indeed,
we live inside big music box; and you
never knew it,
The fact is these musical notes blend
together about us in o vast harmony,
that lulls our sense of hearing instead Of
quickening it. / am sure our hearing
needs great deal more education than It
generally gets. II you try you can sep
arate the sounds that now you discover,
and pick out the different instruments in
the orchestra. Plainly enough was
right, that working and eating do not
predominate as employments Of the insect
world. Here is cluster Of humble or
humble bees, bent on sport, as you can
see. Flies dance about In circles under
that apple limb, and are playing at some
game, quite like tag. There Is very
soft and gentle murmur of their wings,
hardly audible. They have no other
musical instruments, but am quite sure
they enjoy not only the motion, but the
sound. Crickets, however are real musi.
clans, using their wing covers as instru.
ments. When he wishes to pipe the
cricket raises these covers and moves
them together lengthwise. so that they
work as boys cornstalk fiddle works. I
confess the music Is not sweet, but 1t is
better than Scottish bagpipe or a hurdy
gurdy. But the fun of e cricket's music
Is in its element of ventriloquism. 1
should like to see you select one of these
fellows just now and go directly to him,
following up his music. You will go half
dozen ways before you find him. Nearly
all the insects have this power, and 1t Is
no doubt used in self protection.
The handsome green katydid plays an
instrument more Ike the sheepsk1n drums
of the Africans, or a primitive taboret.
In each wing cover there is q triangular
space, over which is situated thin men,
brane. The opening and shutting Of the
wing covers, more or less rapidly, pro-
duces the notes that sound like katy did.
Only once In awhile there is as distinct q
katy didn't. Perhaps both are true.
Crickets and katydids of both sexes are
musicians, and all night long are to be
heard calling and responding like the
shepherd boys of eastern lands. The
cicadas are musical only in the male sex,
and that is quite enough; riff both sexes
could beat the kettle drums we should be
dinned deaf with the noise. On their
sides are membranes plated over each
other and covering hollows. These are
beaten with cords that relax and contract
as boys pull rubber bands In contact with
resounding material. These fellows
keep it up all day, however, and as they
are abundant there is no lack of their
music.
have by no means recounted all the
musical instruments one can hear at mid.
day or Of evenings in July or August
Many Of the tiny bugs have power tc
emit singing sounds. From the greatest
to the least forms Of life there Is some
way of expressing emotion. So like tc
sit on these hillocks Of hay and listen
Just listen. 1t is love that, after all. fills
nature and gives voice to it. Only wher
love fails some harsh shrek indicates thu
presence Of hate. Have l forgotten th'
frog and the tree toad2 BY no means
and you need not recall them with ,
sneer. A frog is gentleman every way
and his music is far from being despicable
In early spring it is truly delightful t.
hear the first cry from the pools. 1t Il
thin and watery and full Of inquiry, bu
1t means spring and green grass an'
flowers. Mary L. Spencer in Globe
Democrat.
People Of Germanio Speech.