122 Hay — JBatrachians and Mep tiles of D. C. 



ments of the present case. The notes on the habits are such as 

 I have been able to make during some fifteen years of collect- 

 ing in the central states and in this locality, but most of those 

 on the cries of the frogs have been furnished me by Mr. Gerrit 

 S. Miller, Jr., who has enjoyed exceptional advantages for the 

 observation of these animals. 



It is a matter of regret to me that my paper could not have 

 been expanded into many times its present volume so that 

 these extremely interesting and much neglected groups of 

 animals might have been given an adequate exposition, but 

 under the circumstances it has been impossible. 



My thanks are due to the many friends who have assisted in 

 the compilation of records, but perhaps most of all to Dr. L. Stej- 

 neger, of the United States National Museum, who has been kind 

 enough to review my manuscript, and call my attention to 

 errors which otherwise would have appeared in the text. 



Key to the Classes and Orders. 



a. Body scaleless in all our species; covered with a skin which is usually 



smooth, soft, and more or less slimy, but sometimes rough and 



warty; eggs laid in or near the water and giving origin to tadpoles 



(Water-dogs, salamanders, toads, and frogs). Class Batrachia. 



b. Body with a distinct tail throughout life; hind limbs, if present, 



not especially enlarged. Order Caudata, p. 123. 

 bb. Body without tail except during immature stages; all four limbs 

 present, the hind pair much the larger. Order Salientia, 

 p. 127. 

 aa. Body covered with yielding, overlapping scales, or enclosed in a 

 bony, box-like shell; eggs, when laid, deposited on land and giving 

 origin to young which are similar in form to the adults (alligators, 

 lizards, snakes, and turtles). Class Reptilia. 

 c. Body not enclosed in a shell. Order Squamata, p. 132. 

 ec. Body enclosed in a box-like shell (turtles). Ofder Chblonia, p. 

 142. 



CLASS BATRACHIA. 



Up to the present time the known species of Batrachia of 

 the region about Washington number 23. These are dis- 

 tributed as follows: Caudata 11, Salientia 12. The distinguish- 

 ing characters of these groups having been given above; there 

 follows the key to the order Caudata. 



