L1>NEAN SOCIKTI' Ol' LOXDOX. 75 



spots each. By the seventeenth day the skin of the tadpole 

 presented a very beautiful appearance under the microscope. On 

 a black background were thickly sprinked groups of golden spots, 

 strangely resembling a midnight sky with its groups of starry 

 constellations. 



Choosing a portion of the skin to which I could be guided by 

 the junction of the tail with the body, 1 made a map of a few 

 groups that were specially defined, but they had so altered their 

 positions during the night, that I could recognize none of them 

 on the following day. Meanwhile the tail had assumed a very 

 elegant leaf-like shape, of a pale brownish hue, fretted with spots 

 of darker brown. On the twentieth day 1 again made a map of 

 the gold spots as they appeared on the ridge of the tail at 12 p.m., 

 but by 20 minutes to eleven on the following day it was impossible 

 to identify any of the groups. On May the 9th, which was the 

 twenty-sixth day, I made a drawing of some spots which were 

 seen on the eye outs'de the iris, and although tlie next day the 

 groups could be recognized, certain changes had begun to take 

 place. Above and beJow the lowest pair of spots gold bars had 

 appeared, and a triangular gold blotch at the lelt had disappeared. 



The twenty-third day showed constant alterations in tlie dis- 

 position of the groups ; and by the twenty-fourth day all the 

 spots distributed over the body, from being circular had in one night 

 become starry, or perhaps they would now be more accurately 

 described as " rosettes,'"' such as are seen on the flanks of the 

 leopard, but golden instead of black. At this time also, the 

 uniform blackness of the underlying skin gave place to a 

 yellowish-brown about the nose and surrounding the eyes ; and 

 four days later the M'hole of this portion, which comprehends 

 almost half the body of the tadpole, had turned to burnished gold, 

 spotted with black, while the rest of the body remained black, but 

 literally crusted over with gold spangles. A black mark shaped 

 like a spear-head now appeared on the elevated ridge between the 

 eyes, and the tail became reddish in the centre, and speckled 

 with red and black spots. 



By the thirtieth day the frog-tadpole had perhaps attained its 

 highest degree of perfection as regards ornamentation, and 

 although it went through many subsequent changes, all beautiful 

 in their way, I will conclude my notes with a description of it at 

 this age, when I think it could hardly be surpassed in brilliancy of 

 decoration by any other creature. 



During the three days which had elapsed since it was last 

 sketched, several changes had taken place. It was still more 

 thickly spangled with gold, and a second fainter mark had 

 appeared in advance of the spear-head marking between the eves. 

 Around the spear-mark spots of a brilliant torquoise-blue had 

 grouped themselves, and the effect of these spots, surrounded as 

 they were by gold, was very jewel-like and striking. Finally, the 

 tail was very transparent, only slightly speckled, and frilled near 

 the end. It is perhaps impossible to exaggerate the splendour of 



