THE WATER CABINET. 143 
CHAPTER VII. 
THE FROG.—NOTES ON MANAGEMENT. 
Tur Froc.—The Ranide or true frogs, and the Bufoide 
or toad tribe, contribute, whether in the larva or perfect 
form, some very lively, entertaming, and instructive 
specimens. I am sorry that my space is so limited as to 
prevent the insertion here of such full notices as this 
subject deserves, and must content myself by assuring the 
reader that but little progress can be made in the study 
of Zoology without a patient study of the history of the 
frog. ' 
During the spring and summer the brooks abound 
with what boys call “ loggerheads,” or tadpoles ; these 
are the larva of the frog. They may be caught easily, 
and preserved in jars of growing weed, for observation of 
their development. I have now (August 18th,) several 
specimens of Bufoide, in which even the first stage of 
metamorphosis has not commenced, though, since June, 
some hundreds of toads and frogs have attained complete- 
ness in my vessels, many of which are now inmates of the 
garden, some of them exceedingly tame. 
In the egg state we find abundance, during April, in 
every pond and brook, adhering in gelatinous masses to 
the under leaves of aquatic plants. The eggs gradually 
acquire a dark tint, and at last the young “ tads ” emerge, 
and begin their quiet existence in this first rudimental 
form. In this state they are very lively in their motions, 
the eyes are very distinctly visible, and the mouth is 
