TAILLESS BATRACHIANS 205 



grenouilles de parc^ the latter being considered much the 

 superior, owing to their larger size ; they are received from 

 the Department of Vendee, where immense marshes have 

 been drained, and parallel ditches, miles long, have been 

 dug. The sale of frogs in Paris is said to amount to about 

 80,000 francs per annum. 



The Agile Frog, R. agilis, a close ally of R. temporaria, 

 which inhabits Southern Sweden, Denmark, Jersey, the 

 greater part of France, Italy, a few localities in Germany, 

 Austria, and South-Eastern Europe, is remarkable for the 

 great length of its hind limbs, which enable it to take leaps 

 of quite six feet. The snout, which is long and obtusely 

 pointed, projects but slightly beyond the mouth. The 

 tympanum is very large, almost equalling the eye in size. 

 The toes are about two-thirds webbed. The skin is usually 

 perfectly smooth, sometimes with a few flat glands and 

 dorso-lateral glandular folds. The upper parts vary in 

 colour from yellowish or pinkish to grey or dark brown, 

 uniform or spotted with blackish ; a y^'^haped, dark 

 marking is usually present between the shoulders. The 

 colour often suggests the dry leaves under which the frog 

 may seek refuge when pursued. 



The Agile Frog is usually found in woods and meadows, 

 never in fields or gardens, and goes to the water only 

 during the breeding season, which extends from the end 

 of February to the middle of April. The eggs, which 

 resemble, both in size and shape, those of the Common 

 Frog, are found attached to submerged plants on the 

 borders of small ponds. The tadpole finishes its meta- 

 morphosis towards the end of June or July. 



The Bull Frog, R. cateshiana, which is distributed over 

 the greater part of Eastern North America, is the largest 



