54 CHARLES W. ifAUCITT 



wasp seized than it was whipped into the mouth, and in turn 

 stung the frog; the frog in turn showed a very lively apprecia- 

 tion of that fact, and made an apparent effort to eject the crea- 

 ture; but the process of ingestion had gone too far, and deglu- 

 tition was completed without further ado, nor did the frog 

 show the least further sign of distress. On another day the 

 operation was repeated and very much after the fashion of 

 the preceding. It may be doubted whether amphibia show 

 any particular discrimination based on that type of experience. 



An interesting feature exhibited by Hyla was that of leaping 

 to take its prey. Seldom does it show any disposition to stalk 

 its prey, as do others of the class. It seems rather to wait till 

 the prey is within leaping distance, which may mean several 

 feet, and then with an easy spring it takes the victim with great 

 accuracy, nor does it ever fail, so far I have seen, to safely lodge 

 in a safe place. It seems not to detect prey at close range. I 

 have seen, repeatedly, insects run over the body or legs of the 

 frog, or indeed over its head and mouth, without a sign of recog- 

 nition on the part of the frog. But let it be seen at some dis- 

 tance and the whole behavior changes at once. 



Hylas are voracious feeders, and digestion seems to be fairly 

 rapid though not very complete. It is quite easy to recognize 

 in the feces the nature of the food taken. For example, a 

 digested grasshopper is a grasshopper still] And so with a beetle 

 or other insect. The chitinous exoskeleton seems only to have 

 been softened and the internal proteid and other food elements 

 to have been extracted and assimilated. 



HIBERNATION 



Presumably hibernation is a more or less similar phenomenon 

 among all amphibia. In general its chief features are quite 

 well understood. On this point my observations on species of 

 Hyla add little that is new. Its first indication is expressed 

 in a tendency to escape from unpleasant cold. Specimens in 

 the laboratory show no disposition toward hibernation so long 

 as conditions of temperature are conducive for activity. My 

 specimens were in apparently normal activity during the months 

 of November and December in the laboratory so long as con- 

 ditions were favorable and food was supplied. The last week 

 of December some five specimens were placed in a cool, damp 



