measurement of sounds from the oecanthus
Date: 1935-1936
Inventory Number: 1998-1-0951e
Classification: Chart
Subject:
Maker: George Washington Pierce (1872 - 1956)
Cultural Region:
Place of Origin:
Dimensions:
0.3 x 52 x 39 cm (1/8 x 20 1/2 x 15 3/8 in.)
in envelope: 0.5 x 53 x 40 cm (3/16 x 20 7/8 x 15 3/4 in.)
Description:
This chart represents a series of sounds made by oecanthinae, or tree crickets who sing primarily at night. Unlike other crickets, they are "white and pale greenish yellow, have beautiful diaphanous wings, live in trees, and are shy and secretive in their habits." Although they frequently hide and are often difficult to see, they are quite easy to hear. They sing loudly and clearly beginning at dusk and night-time. Sometimes they are diurnal singers, if the day is cloudy. The noises that they make are often confused with tree-frogs (Pierce 135).
Signedunsigned
Inscribedwritten in pencil on the first strip: Snowy Tree at 25.5 C +6700/n Sept 6 '36
written in pencil on the third strip: G at T= 25 degrees C/ f=7100/3
written in pencil on the fifth strip: snow tree gr. Spet 6 2 PM in dark r. 8800/4; T= 21.2 degrees C
written in pencil on the seventh strip: snowy tree gr 7200/3, T=23.5 degrees C
written in pencil on the eighth strip: Tree Cr. "Snowy" 4400/2 6600/3 8800/4 f 2000 Sept 5 '36
written in pencil on the ninth strip: on side Nigicornis pethier f=4600 Tree Gr No 1 in Darkroom
written in pencil on the eleventh strip: Oecanthus/ No 1 5900
written in pencil on the twelfth strip: Tree Gr No 2 f 9500/3 Aug 3 '36 Franklin
written in pencil next to the fourteenth strip: Quadripan ctatis
written in pencil on the fourteenth strip: Tree No. 2 Sept 3 '36/ Reed=30 f=3100 6200/2 9400/3 12700/4 15800/5 19200/6 22300/8 28700/9 31600/10 35000/11 41400/13 44600/14 47700/15
written in pencil below strip fifteen: also #2 at 14000/5=2800 Sept 14, 1936
written in pencil on the sixteenth strip: nigricornis pethier (next) tree cricket #4 Sept 7 '36 f4600 9200/2 Reeds 38 to 40 and at 24
written in green pencil on the seventeenth strip: f=5300 N reeds/ tree 02 No. 4 on Ceiling 38-40 From? Aug 9 '36
written upside down in pencil on the nineteenth strip: N=42 Sept 30 1935/ 3400~ Pine Tree Cricket
written upside down in pencil on the twentieth strip: Tree Cricket Aug 31 1935/2800
written in pencil on the third strip: G at T= 25 degrees C/ f=7100/3
written in pencil on the fifth strip: snow tree gr. Spet 6 2 PM in dark r. 8800/4; T= 21.2 degrees C
written in pencil on the seventh strip: snowy tree gr 7200/3, T=23.5 degrees C
written in pencil on the eighth strip: Tree Cr. "Snowy" 4400/2 6600/3 8800/4 f 2000 Sept 5 '36
written in pencil on the ninth strip: on side Nigicornis pethier f=4600 Tree Gr No 1 in Darkroom
written in pencil on the eleventh strip: Oecanthus/ No 1 5900
written in pencil on the twelfth strip: Tree Gr No 2 f 9500/3 Aug 3 '36 Franklin
written in pencil next to the fourteenth strip: Quadripan ctatis
written in pencil on the fourteenth strip: Tree No. 2 Sept 3 '36/ Reed=30 f=3100 6200/2 9400/3 12700/4 15800/5 19200/6 22300/8 28700/9 31600/10 35000/11 41400/13 44600/14 47700/15
written in pencil below strip fifteen: also #2 at 14000/5=2800 Sept 14, 1936
written in pencil on the sixteenth strip: nigricornis pethier (next) tree cricket #4 Sept 7 '36 f4600 9200/2 Reeds 38 to 40 and at 24
written in green pencil on the seventeenth strip: f=5300 N reeds/ tree 02 No. 4 on Ceiling 38-40 From? Aug 9 '36
written upside down in pencil on the nineteenth strip: N=42 Sept 30 1935/ 3400~ Pine Tree Cricket
written upside down in pencil on the twentieth strip: Tree Cricket Aug 31 1935/2800
Historical AttributesGeorge Washington Pierce first became interested in this insect-chirping project because he was a physics professor at Harvard, and a sub-branch of physics is acoustics. He took a leave of absence from Harvard during WWI to engage in studies of acoustics for the Submarine and Anti-Submarine bases of the US Navy in 1917-1918. He also gave graduate courses in radio communication and acoustic signaling (which involves the production, transmission, and reception of sound signal in air and also water)
(Pierce, 7).
Pierce had an elaborate process for collecting and recording insect noises. The insect sounds were initially detected through a "sound receiver," to detect insect location in field. Then, the insect was observed by Pierce through a lens, captured in a net, carried to a lab, and classified (Pierce, 12-27). The insect's musical sounds recorded by a portable field apparatus with a loudspeaker, at the end of an amplifier box, which incorporated a method of making a record of the pulsations on moving tape (Pierce, 23). These pulsations are inscribed on the white strips with red markings seen on the matte board.
(Pierce, 7).
Pierce had an elaborate process for collecting and recording insect noises. The insect sounds were initially detected through a "sound receiver," to detect insect location in field. Then, the insect was observed by Pierce through a lens, captured in a net, carried to a lab, and classified (Pierce, 12-27). The insect's musical sounds recorded by a portable field apparatus with a loudspeaker, at the end of an amplifier box, which incorporated a method of making a record of the pulsations on moving tape (Pierce, 23). These pulsations are inscribed on the white strips with red markings seen on the matte board.
Primary SourcesGeorge Washington Pierce, The Songs of Insects (1948, Cambridge MA, Harvard University Press).