iiS 



Tin: OREGON NATURALIST. 



for the yellow pond lilies and dens2 rushes 

 grow far out from the shore, with only 

 narrow expanses of open water showing 

 between their rank clusters. The sloping 

 bank is covered with a thick gro.vth of 

 willows, with here and there a towering 

 elm or.misshapen wateroak. 



A substantial plank fence separates 

 this miniature wilderness from the fine 

 open pastures which surround it. There 

 is no danger of the frogs trying to leave 

 the pond for the surrounding country is 

 high and dry, and bull-frogs never 

 venture far from water. The fence was 

 built to keep hogs, cattle and domestic 

 ducks and geese from invading the pond. 



The frogs are not by any means ta lie, 

 yet the pond is visited so often that they 

 have grown somewhat ac:ustomed to the 

 sight of men, and are not frightened as 

 easily as wholly wild ones are. They 

 leave the water in large numbers and 

 perch upon the bank, or on rocks, sticks 

 and stones, some of them basking in the 

 sunshine, others hidden in the deepest 

 shade. * They sit perfectly motionless, 

 watching the visitor with their great 

 goggle eyes as if fascinated by the sight 

 until some frog more timid than the rest 

 plunges into the water. This breaks the 

 spell and on all sides there are sudden 

 flashes of white bellies and long mottled 

 legs as the whole colony of frogs splashes 

 into the pond. 



In the wider openings in such a pond 

 the water is often clear and bright, but in 

 the narrow bays between the weeds and 

 willows the surface is usually covered 

 with a thick coat of conferva^ and duck- 

 weed. It is in this green scum of low- 

 vegetation that the frogs deposit their 

 spawn, stringy masses of a jelly-like 

 substance which floats upon the water. 

 These masses are composed of innumer- 

 able very small eggs held togetner and 

 protected bv the slimy glue in which they 

 are imbedded. 



In the spawning season the frog raiser 

 wades about over his pond and with a 

 large dipper carefully skims the scattered 

 masses of spawn from the surface of the 

 water and places it in a bucket. The 

 spawn thus collected is poured into hatch- 

 ing boxes made of rough boards and 

 anchored in some small stream which 

 flows into or out of the pond. These 

 boxes, which are usually about two feet 

 square and one foot deep, are covered with 

 nettings of tarred wire and have bottoms 

 of the same material to admit the water 

 freely as they float into the stream or rest 

 on the oozy bottom. Here the frog's eggs 

 are kept, well protected from birds, fishes, 

 old frogs, and any other animals that 

 might wish to devour them. 



In from seven to fifteen days, owing to 

 the temperature, the eggs begin to hatch 

 and the bottoms of the boxes are soon 

 covered with little tadpales quietly bask- 

 ing in the sun or dodging about and try- 

 ing to hide. It is not very expensive to 

 feed these little fellows, for their food is 

 microscopic, or nearly so, consisting of 

 particles of organic matter found in the 

 water or on the bottom The tadpoles do 

 very well in their boxes for the first few 

 days of their lives, but as they grow 

 larger they need a wider range,, and arc 

 liberated in a small pjnd that -is sur- 

 rounded by a fence, usually of fine meshed 

 wire netting. 



You would scarcely believe that there 

 could be so many tadpoles in the world as 

 are to be found in one of these little ponds. 

 Frogs lay their eggs in such great 

 numbers that if they were allowed to in- 

 crease unchecked they would soon over- 

 run the world. There is little danger, 

 however, of their ever becoming too numer- 

 ous, for they have an infinite number of 

 dangers and difficulties to contend with 

 and if tadpoles were not hatched in vast 

 numbers none of them would reach matur- 

 ity. 



