. 1899-1900. | Notes on the Frog. 103 
do not devour each other. Yet I know for certain that any 
one going to a pool on Monday may find it swarming with 
tadpoles, while on Saturday very few, if any, will be present. 
Why ? because some wild ducks took a fancy to them. Newts, 
also, eat a great many. I have seen a black newt swallow 
three fully grown, with the limbs showing, almost as quickly 
as one could say he had done so. 
I have one of my first year’s frogs yet. I had three last 
year, but two of them got away last autumn. They were all 
_ quite tame, and not at all shy. It is very amusing to see 
them feeding, if there are two for the same worm. Drop 
a worm before them—jit can scarcely be too large. One 
would think they would at once pick it up, but no: they 
will sit and steadily watch the worm for a while, then have 
a look at each other, and so on for some time, alternately 
looking at the worm and at each other. One day two of 
hem caught the same worm, which happened to be a large 
one. It was a sight to witness that tug of war! The worm 
parted, and they both rolled off the shelf they were on. 
Another day I dropped a worm between two of them: after 
contemplating that worm for some time, one of them swallowed 
‘it. The other jumped at and bit its companion two or three 
times on the side of the head. I then put down another 
worm for the unsuccessful frog, but he studied it so long that 
No. 1 took it also. No. 2 looked up, seemingly astonished 
and enraged, for he gave a croak, jumped upon the back of 
No. 1, and dug his forefeet so hard into the other’s sides that 
he squealed loud and long. They struggled with each other, 
rolling over and over, for two or three minutes, after which 
they separated, and No. 2 got his worm in peace. 
For the benefit of any who may not have studied frog life, 
I may say a few words about how frogs pass the winter. In 
a natural state they usually bury themselves in the loose 
mud and decaying vegetable matter round the weedy sides of 
lochs, ditches, and small streams. I have many a time turned 
ap numbers of them while removing the accumulation of leaves, 
&c., from the bottom of some of these streams. I have also 
seen many turned up by the sides of lochs which had got 
stirred up while drawing ice ashore for filling ice-houses. I 
elieve frogs will sometimes pass the winter in damp holes 
