144 THE WATER CABINET. 
placed, as it were, on the breast. They are not wholly 
herbivorous ; for though they nibble the fronds of Riccia 
and threads of Conferva, they do not scruple to eat their 
dead kindred, and half a dozen may be seen engaged upon 
the carcase of a defunct brother. In this stage the gills form 
a fine microscopic object. As the “ tad ” increases in bulk, 
the hinder part of the body swells, and at last the budding 
of the hind legs may be distinctly seen. These at last 
acquire some degree of completeness, and then the other 
pair of legs sprout in a similar manner, and the tail 
begins to shrink rapidly as the general bulk of the reptile 
increases. The gills now rapidly disappear, and the 
body grows at the expense of the tail, and before the 
latter appendage is completely extinguished, the juvenile 
Ranus takes his first dose of atmospheric air, by mount- 
ing a leaf of frog-bit or a slice of cork. He now leads 
an amphibious life, and at last quits the water altogether, 
climbs up the glass side of the tank or jar, and escapes, 
