O NOTES ON THE FROO. 



the blithesome lark, in flocks unite; while congregated starlings join the 

 sable rooks; and all that Nature subjects to our gaze proclaims stern Winter 

 drawing on apace, when many forms now full of life will seek retreats, 

 wherein to sleep the nipping season out; till Spring again appears with 

 smiling face, and sunshine tempts them forth. Divine appointments all, 

 and wisely framed for great and wondrous ends, to man inscrutable ; an 

 indication clear of all-directing Power — that Mighty One whom heaven and 

 earth obeys — whose very nod could rend the universe, or hurl this earthly 

 planet from its sphere, and yet in mercy stoops to note the sparrow's fall. 



Frogs, as generally reported, secrete themselves for the winter, in mud 

 at the bottom of ponds and ditches, where they have often been found in 

 large numbers, clustered together; but a short exposure to the air will soon 

 rouse the torpid mass to activity. Other retreats are, however, often 

 selected; as holes in walls, beneath stones, a bank side,-:- or even hollow 

 trees, where sufiicient humidity exists to suit their habits. In such 

 situations they have occurred in company with the Toad, Newt, and some 

 varieties of the Snail; and it has been remarked, that the Fi-og is first 

 aroused from slumber. 



On the 9th Dec, 1848, I accompanied an antiquarian friend to Gipton, 

 for the purpose of surveying some Saxon earthworks there. In one 

 field was a slight hollow place with a spring in it, forming a little pool 

 covered with duckweed; adjacent stood an old wall, studded with lichens 

 and mosses, and built into it was a curious primeval I'elic in the shape 

 of a quern.f As nothing would satisfy the antiquary but canning it 

 off, we set vigorously to work to extract it. Stone after stone was carefully 

 removed, till one large fragment required the aid of both ; and as we raised 

 it from its bed, my friend, eo instante, gave a sudden cry, and bolted back ; 

 startled by the appearance of three fine yellow Frogs, which were squatting 

 in a crevice below. Our proceedings had evidently disturbed their slumbers, 

 for they were wide awake enough ; and, while I stood laughing, j)0j)ped with 

 one accord into the pool below. The colour of these Frogs was much 

 brighter than they usually are when found in a torpid state ; most specimens 

 I have seen being of a dusky hue — in fact, the colour of a Toad. To get 

 into this retreat, the Frogs must have forced their way through a very 

 contracted aperture. I remember one being found in a torpid state, in a 

 cavity near the roots of a dead willow; the only apparent entrance was a 

 very small hole, through which one would suppose a full-grown Frog could 

 only have forced its way with great difficulty. 



I have not paid sufiicient attention to the history of this reptile, to 

 become acquainted with the several stages of its growth ; but I believe most 

 naturalists agree, that they do not attain full maturity till the end of three 



• Loudon's Mag. Nat. History, vol. iii., p. 117; vol. vi., p. 156. 

 t VUJe PeuuRnt'a Tour in Scotland, <tc., vol. ii., pp. AUS, 8i9. 



