i8 



egg ropes will look like glass tubes containing a string of jet black 

 beads. After a rain the eggs are obscured by the fine mud that settles 

 on the transparent jelly surrounding them. 



Take enough of the egg string to include 50 or 100 eggs, and place 

 it in a glass fruit dish or a basin with clean water from the pond 

 where the eggs were found. Let the children look at the eggs very 

 carefully and note the color and the exact shape. Let them see if 

 the color is the same on all sides. If the eggs are newly laid they 

 will be nearly perfect spheres. 



Frogs, salamanders and tree toads lay their eggs in the same 

 places and at about the same time as the toad we are to study. Only 

 the toad lays its eggs in strings, so one can be sure he has the right 

 kind. The others lay their eggs in bunches or singly on the plant, so 

 they never need be mistaken for the ones sought. 



The eggs which are taken to the schoolhouse for study should be 

 kept in a light place, but not very long in the hot sun, for that would 

 heat the water too much and kill the eggs. 



It takes only a short time for the eggs to hatch. In warm weather 

 two or three days are usually sufficient. As the changes are so very 

 rapid, the eggs ought to be carefully looked at two or three times a 

 day to make sure that all the principal changes are seen. If a pocket 

 lens or a reading glass is to be had it will add to the interest, as more 

 of the details can be observed. But good sharp eyes are sufficient if 

 no lens is available. 



Hatching. — Watch and see how long it is before the developing 

 embryos commence to move. Note their change in form. As they 

 elongate they move more vigorously till on the second or third day 

 they wriggle out of the jelly surrounding them. This is hatching, and 

 they are now free in the water and can swim about. It is curious to 

 see them hang themselves up on the old egg string or on the edge of 

 the dish. They do this by means of a peculiar v-shaped organ on 

 their heads. 



How different the little creatures are, which have just hatched, 

 from the grown-up toad which laid the eggs. The difference is about 

 as great as that between a caterpillar and a butterfly. 



Tadpoles^ poUiwogs. — We do not call the young of the frog, the 

 toad, and the tree toad, caterpillars, but tadpoles or polliwogs. The 

 toad tadpoles are blacker than any of the others. 



