THE FROG'S YEAR 53 



to fall back on if necessary. The changes in diet 

 are equally striking. 



But while the elusive tadpoles have been under- 

 going development in the relatively safe conditions 

 of aquatic life, their parents have been living 

 dangerously on land. In April or earlier the old 

 frogs pass from the pond or pool to the meadows, 

 woods, and fields, where they hunt for insects, 

 slugs, worms, and other small fry, which must be 

 moving to excite interest. The adults are followed 

 in June or July by the froglings of the year, which 

 often migrate from the water-pools in huge numbers. 

 Their sudden appearance has formed part of the 

 basis of stories of frog-showers, and we need not 

 smile too broadly who still speak of it " raining 

 cats and dogs." The crowd of small frogs, each 

 well under half an inch in length much shorter 

 than the tadpole is occasionally so thick that when 

 we meet them crossing a road we find it difficult 

 to pass without treading on them. 



In the fields they indulge their insectivorous 

 appetite and grow but not very quickly. Every 

 now and then they molt that is to say, the outer- 

 most layer of the epidermis, often much the worse 

 for wear, is split up along the mid-line of the back 

 and slipped off. It seems to be good form that 

 the frog should tuck its cast slough into its mouth, 

 setting a fine example of economy. In spite of 

 their adjustable protective coloration, which often 

 gives them a garment of invisibility against a back- 

 ground of either brown earth or green grass, our 



