VI HYLIDAE 193 



like " epp-epp-epp," or " creek, creek, creek," with more or less 

 of an a sound. It is uttered at any time of the day, more fre- 

 quently at dusk, and of course chiefly during the pairing season. 

 This tree-frog suffers from the reputation of heing a good weather- 

 prophet, and it is for this reason often kept in confinement, the 

 orthodox abode being a muslin-covered glass jar, with a hole to 

 put flies through, water and plants at the bottom, and a little 

 ladder to sit upon. The prophesying is of the usual popular 

 unreliable nature, although the little creature, provided it is 

 a male, often sounds its voice on the approach of a shower, or 

 when there is a thunderstorm in the air. During continuous fine 

 weather it sits on the top of the ladder, or is glued on near the 

 rim of the glass, while on wet and dull days it is less active, and 

 may keep nearer the ground or in the water. There is a German 

 rhyme which well expresses the prophet's reliability by its am- 

 biguity : — 



Wenn die Laubfrosche knarreii, 



Magst du auf Eegen harren. 



When the tree-frogs croak, you may wait for rain. Sometimes 

 it does come true. 



Tree-frogs are not very intelligent, although they have a keen 

 sense of locality ; but they are nice pets, being easily kept, and 

 have a pretty appearance. There is a record of one which lived 

 for twenty-two years in confinement. 



The pairing begins soon after the frogs reappear from their 

 hibernation in the ground ; in Germany in the month of May. 

 The congregating males make a gi'eat noise and take to the water 

 before the females, which join them when ready to spawn. 

 The male grasps his mate near the shoulders, and the pair swim 

 about together, sometimes for days, until the eggs are expelled. 

 These are laid in small clvmips of 800 to 1000, which soon 

 swell up and remain at the bottom of the pond. The larvae 

 are hatched in ten days ; two days later the adhesive sucker 

 below the throat appears, and after another two days a pair of 

 thread-like external gills are developed. The tadpoles, which 

 reach a length of 2 inches, owing to the long tail, which is 

 nearly three times as long as the body, metamorphose in about 

 twelve weeks, and the baby tree-frogs, scarcely half an inch in 

 length, hide in the grass for the next two years, until they are 

 about half grown, not reaching maturity until the fourth year. 



VOL. VIII 



