HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



125 



and debris there ; quite the contrary on bright sunny 

 warm days, which seemed to act as a stimulant on 

 them, for they would come more to the top of the 

 vessels, and move about quickly, and in the act of 

 feeding their little mouths would work up and down 

 with rapidity. 



Taking into consideration that when tadpoles were 

 in a pond in a natural condition they must necessarily 

 have a variety of food — whatever a sudden gust of 

 wind or chance might place in their way, such as 

 dead mice, birds, etc. — I procured as much variety 

 for them as I could, and I found them very quick 



they eagerly seized on it. I used to take a piece of 

 raw beef, mutton, or lamb, about the size of a large 

 marble, and tie it on to the end of a piece of thread, 

 so that I could easily draw it out of the water, for if 

 left in too long the meat will foul it. I then lowered 

 the meat into the water ; soon the tadpoles would all 

 get together, but quite in the opposite direction to 

 where it was. They would seem very fussy and 

 uncertain what to do, until one would come forward 

 and attack the meat ; the rest would immediately 

 follow, and during the rest of the day the meat would 

 be covered with them ; and when in the evening I 



Fig. 79. — Third Frog Stage 

 (natural size). 



Fig- 77- — First Frog Stage (enlarged). 



Fig. 78.— Second Frog Stage (enlarged). 



Fig. 80.— Fourth Frog Stage 

 (natural size). 



to discover anything different in the shape of aliment 

 to what they were used to having. A little finely 

 chopped hay, sprinkled on the top of the water, they 

 would discover immediately, and it would busy them 

 for the rest of the day. Dead caddis-worms and dead 

 water-snails they greedily devoured ; in fact nothing 

 came amiss to them in the form of decaying animal or 

 vegetable matter, for they are thorough scavengers, 

 and follow out this law of their nature, even to eating 



their dead relations. 



I used to give them meat nearly every day, and 



found, quite contrary to what M. H. Robson says, that 



went to take out what was left they would not 

 relinquish their hold of it until they found themselves 

 in the air, and then they would drop back into their 

 native element. The meat used to be considerably 

 torn about and much diminished. M. H. Robson 

 evidently had not the time to devote to watching 

 his tadpoles as I had to watching mine, so, on finding 

 the meat not wholly consumed, came to the conclusion 

 that they did not appreciate it. 



Mr. Fullagar, whose name is well known to the 

 readers of Science-Gossip in connection with Amoe- 

 ba;, etc., witnessed the aforementioned statement, 



