THE FROG, OR THE TOAD. 



Phylum XII, CHORDATA; sub-phylum 3, VERTEBRATA; class 3, 

 AMPHIBIA; order 2, ANURA. 



HABITAT. Frogs are common the world over. They abound in 

 marshy places or along fresh- water streams and ponds, spending part of 

 the time in water and part on land. Their eggs are laid on plants or 

 sticks in the water, and the young, known as tadpoles, live a truly 

 aquatic life for some weeks, breathing by gills and swimming by means 

 of a broad, well developed tail. Later the tail is absorbed, the gills 

 functionally give place gradually to lungs, limbs appear, and the young 

 frog is ready to hop about on the shore. Certain species known as tree 

 frogs lead an arboreal life after leaving the water. 



The life history of the toad reads about the same as that of the frog, 

 except that the former, after the period of his tadpole existence, 

 wanders farther away from the waters that his infancy knew and takes 

 up his abode in gardens or, in fact, almost anywhere that vegetation 

 offers concealment and cooling shade. The so-called "horned toad" 

 of the plains is in reality a lizzard. 



Technical Note. This outline will serve equally well for a study of the 

 frog and the toad. Most students prefer to handle the former on ac- 

 count of certain ungrounded prejudices against the toad, hit the latter 

 is usually more easily obtained and kept alive until wanted. Frogs 

 may be easily taken with an insect net as the collector walks along the 

 water courses they frequent. They may be kept alive for a long time 

 in a box, having a few holes for ventilation, stored in a cool, damp 

 place. Toads may be picked up almost anywhere after dark. They 

 are especially numerous under the electric lights on our city streets. 

 They can be kept in a cellar until wanted, perhaps all winter for that 

 matter. The box they occupy should be partly filled with damp earth. 

 THE LIVE FROG. Place a frog in a pail of water and note its position 



when floating and movements when swimming. Does it exert itself to 

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