220 REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS 



males are always the more numerous, and great fights take 

 place for the possession of the females. As the above 

 account shows, the instinct of orientation is very highly 

 developed in this species. Some years ago my father 

 made a few simple experiments on this instinct. He took 

 a number of pairing individuals out of a pond frequented 

 by the species, which was only a short distance from 

 another in which frogs spawn, but to which toads never 

 resort. The toads were turned loose on a monticule 

 midway between the two ponds, from which neither could 

 be seen. All, after a little hesitation, or after a few hops 



Fig. 1 6. — Eggs of Common Toad. 



( After Boulenr^er. ) 



in the opposite direction, took the right orientation, and 

 made their way straight towards the pond where they 

 were taken from. Single specimens, pairs, and groups of 

 individuals were experimented on, and all with the same 

 result. 



The eggs of this toad, which number from 4,000 to 

 7,000, are deposited in long strings, twisted round water 

 plants or submerged branches ; they are quite small, 

 and form files of three or four. The tadpoles measure 

 at the most an inch in length, which is surprising consider- 

 ing that this is the largest of the European batrachians ; 

 they transform about a couple of months after the eggs 

 have been hatched. 



