21 



THE NATURALIST. 



Here then the range of variation is as follows : — 



1. eu-hihernica, peduncles naked, petioles hairy, leaves hairy 



beneath. 

 Q. glabra, peduncles naked, petioles and leaves hairless. 

 3. cordlfolia, peduncles aciculate and setose, leaves broader and 

 more bluntly toothed, almost hairless. 

 Closely allied as they are in many respects, if R. Sabini by the 

 clothing, toothing, and odour of its leaves recalls the Villosm, R. hibernica, 

 in a similar manner, reminds us of canina. The French R. Biturigensis, 

 Boreaii, is quite intermediate between this group and R. rubiginosa. It has 

 as numerous and as unequal prickles as Pi. Sabini in combination with 

 leaves glabrous above and hardly hairy beneath, but densely covered with 

 viscid glands, and the French R. Schultzii, Ripart, classed by Deseglise 

 amongst the Canines, comes very near our R. hibernica, var. glabra. 



®hBtxbviixann. 



Frogs, Toads, Sc. — Now that we 

 are fairly in the middle of the breed- 

 ing season of these animals, when 

 every one's attention is forcibly 

 drawn lo them by their loud and 

 well sustained love songs, it will 

 not perhaps be deemed superfluous 

 or uninteresting to give a few notes 

 respecting them. 



The frog and toad are, as every 

 one knows, oviparous. They gener- 

 ally commence to deposit their eggs 

 or spawn about the end of March. 

 Last year I saw spawn, left by the 

 frogs, on the 6th March ; some of 

 this I secured for my aquarium. 

 This year I saw the frogs, for the 

 first time, depositiyig their eggs on 

 the 26th March. 



There is a great difference between 



the forms in which the spawn of 

 the frog and toad is extruded. The 

 spawn of the frog consists of an im- 

 mense number of eggs, each enclosed 

 in a separate globular coat of mucus ; 

 these being again united form a 

 somewhat spherical body of the 

 average diameter of four and a half 

 inches. These germs are not fer- 

 tilized while within the body of the 

 parent, but at the moment of extru- 

 sion. The number of germs con- 

 tained in one of these masses is 

 enormous. Let us endeavour to 

 ascertain approximately what this 

 number will be. I have found by 

 measurement that the average dia- 

 meter of these clusters is four and a 

 half inches. I find also that the 

 number of eggs per linear inch is 

 three ; this gives 27 germs to the 

 cubic inch, and 1,288 in an average 

 sized mass. 



