Teachers' Leaflet. 621 



(14). On what does the frog feed? 



(15). What sound does it make? 



(16). \Miere are the sound sacs of the frog? 



(17). What are the frog's enemies? 



(18). How does it escape from them? 



(19). How does it swim? 



( 20). The two being equal in size which can leap the farthest the frog 

 or the toad and why? 



(21). What happens to the frog in winter? 



Facts for teachers. — The frog is usually found in the pond or on its borders; 

 however, the leopard frog and some others are sometimes wanderers and may be 

 found some distance from the pond. It spends most of its life in or about the 

 water, and if caught on land takes great leaps to reach its native pond. The 

 fi'og is more slim than the toad; it is not covered with such great warts, and it is 

 v.-ry cold and slippery to the touch. The frog is likelj- to be much more brightly 

 colored than the toad, having much of yellow and green in our common species. 

 The eyes are very prominent. The ear in bullfrogs is larger than the eye ; the 

 bullfrog has horny teeth, which are very tiny and are Uhed for biting off food and 

 net for chewing. The hands and feet of the frog are similar to those of the toad 

 e.xcept that the hind feet are more completely webbed, and the hind legs are larger 

 and stronger in proportion. The food of the frog is largely the insects which fre- 

 quent damp p'.aces or the water. The liullfrog finds all of its food in the w-ater. 

 The sound sacs of the frog instead of being under the throat, as in the toads and 

 tree frogs, are at the sides of the throat and may be seen when inflated back of 

 the eyes often extending out over the front legs. In addition to the snakes the 

 frogs have inveterate enemies in the herons, which walk about in shallow water 

 and eat them in great numbers. The frog's only hope of escaping its enemies is 

 through the slipperiness of the body, or its long, quick leaps. As a jumper the 

 frog is much more powerful than the toad because the hind legs are of greater 

 development in comparison to the size of the animal. Frogs hibernate in mud in 

 and about ponds during the winter. The frog is an interesting creature; its 

 colors are harmonious and pleasing and its eyes are really beautiful. 



THE TREE FROG OR TREE TOAD. 



Preliminary zcork. — Associated witli the first songs of the robin and blue bird 

 is the equally delightful chorus of the spring peepers ; yet how few of us have 

 ever seen one of these choristers ! Should we find one it would prove to be the 

 t'niest froglet of them all. for the spring peeper or Pickering's Hyla is a littie 

 more than an inch in leniith when fully grown. One of these tree frogs kept in 

 a moss garden made in a glass aquarium jar is a never-ending source of delight 

 to the cliildrcn. We have several other tree frogs which trill above our heads, 

 and their song is often mistaken for that of the Cicada, which is really quite dif 

 ferent and far more shrill. The tree frog's note is particularly winning and con- 

 fidential, but the singer is exceedingly hard to find. In fact, tree frogs arc so 

 well protected by their color that they are seldom discovered except by chance. 

 The only way the editor ever succeeded in getting a tree frog was when she went 

 hunting for them on the margin of a marshy pond at night witli the aid of a 

 lantern. The spring peepers do not seem to be afraid rif the light, and may thus 

 be captured if the hunter is sufficiently enterprising. However, this lesson on the 

 tree frog should not be given unless a specimen is at hand for the children to study. 



