AMPHIBIA, OR BATRACHIANS. £7 



it, but, at first it scampered into a corner of the 

 chimney, lost a bit of its tail, then hid amongst some 

 hot ashes. It was ultimately secured, found to be a 

 little " lizard," was put into spirits, and sent to the 

 celebrated naturalist Buffon. Thus runs the story, 

 of which we must permit our readers to believe in 

 proportion to their credulity. 



As the Batrachians or Amphibians, to which the 

 toads, frogs, and newts belong, differ from the Eep- 

 tiles, already described, in their being at one portion 

 of their existence, entirely aquatic, and at other 

 periods entirely, or in part, dwellers on the land, 

 some account will be necessary of the transforma- 

 tions which they undergo. Professor Quatrefages 

 has well described these changes : — 



In this group we meet with both complete and incomplete 

 metamorphoses ; but here we find them marked by quite differ- 

 ent features from those among insects. The changes do not 

 appear to take place suddenly, nor is there anything like the 

 apparently torpid condition of the pupa. All the transforma 

 tions take place gradually, and as far as the external organs are 

 concerned, the development may be closely watched by the 

 observer. 



The development of frogs presents another curious pheno- 

 menon. It is this : 1 he young animal, after it has left the egg, 

 and before it has become a larva, is still in a semi-embryonic 

 condition. At this period the digestive tube and its appendages 

 are exceedingly rudimentary. The greater portion of the body 

 is filled by a large mass of yolk or vitellus, inclosed by the skin, 

 which has been formed for some time ; and it is at the expense 

 of this alimentary matter that the developmeDt proceeds. 



The external characters are in keeping with the imperfect 

 condition of the animal at this period. The head is large, and 



