RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



59 



and half as wide. They are ovate in shape, 

 narrowed at the base. 



The prominent mid vein sends out six or 

 seven pairs of prominent lateral veins, at 

 sharp angles, which determine the number 

 of divisions of the leaf blade. The margin 

 is deeply indented, the sinuses being full}' an 

 inch cut, with one-third that width. This 

 gives a more prominently toothed division to 

 the leaf than is found in other varieties. The 

 branchlets are heavily foliaged, the leaves 

 lying upon each other in an imbricated man- 

 ner. The young leaves are slightly downy 

 underneath, pale green, darker above. The 

 foliage of the tree is certainh' characteristic 

 and remarkably attractive. 



The fruit marks the tree as varying from 

 the named varieties of the Q.prinus. It is 

 full}' one and a fourth inches in length, in 

 a cup one third as deep, prominentl}- tuber- 

 cled. The fruit resembles that of the En- 

 glish oak, Q. rohur. 



The wood, as examined from a dead 

 branch, is coarse grained, and of dark color. 



Tiie tree described is dying rapidly. One 

 half will not leave out again ; the other part 

 appears vigorous at this writing, and is fruit- 

 ing abundantly, this j'ear. It has fruited 

 but sparingly for several 3'ears, last year 

 not at all. The variety is certainly worth 

 pro[)agating, not alone from its rarit}', but 

 from its beautj' as a shade tree. 



It should be remarked that the soil upon 

 which this tree grows is a rich loam, moist 

 but not swampy, and it is in a sheltered 

 situation, with ample room for development. 



Tl)is completes the list of annual-fruited 

 oaks in Rhode Island, unless a doubted re- 

 port should prove true, that the mossy-cup 

 white oak, Q. macrocarpa^ is to be found 

 in the northwestern corner of the state. 



Recapitulation of the annual-fruited 

 oaks : 



White Oak Division. 



Q. alba — White oak. 



Q. obtasiloba — Post oak. 



Chestnut Oak Division. 

 Q. pi- in as. 



Var. bicolor — Swamp chestnut oak. 

 Far. monticola — Uock chestnut oak. 

 Var. jprmoides — Chinquapin oak. 

 Var. not named. 



Reptiles and Batrachiaas of Rhode Island. 



BY IIERMOX C. BUMPUS. 



What is meant by the bone of contention ? 

 The jaw-bone. 



Number XI. 



We now come to the arborial Batrachians, 

 the tree-frogs, or, as they are more com- 

 monly called, the "tree-toads." These ani- 

 mals have teeth in the upper jaw and on the 

 palatine bones, the latter appearing in the 

 center of the roof of the mouth. The toes 

 are all provided at their extremities with 

 sucking-disks, and those of the hind limbs 

 are more or less united b}' a web. B\' 

 means of these sucking-disks, and assisted 

 by a viscid fluid, secreted from the lower 

 surface of the toes, the tree -toads can, not 

 onl}- secure their hold on the slender branches 

 of the trees and fearlessly jump from bough 

 to bough, but they can crawl up the smooth 

 surface of a window-pane or the perpendicu- 

 lar walls of a room. The palraation of the 

 hind limbs is of use with our forms only 

 during the breeding season, when the males 

 and females congregate in the warm pools 

 and shallow pond holes, making the air ring 

 with their shrill pipings. 



Hyla versicolor Le Conte. The common 

 tree-toad is one of the most beautiful mem- 

 bers of the genus, and well merits its specific 

 name, as it possesses the power of changing 

 its hue to a most remarkable degree. Or- 

 dinarily when found it is of a greenish white 

 shade, a color giving the crouching animal 

 the appearance of a piece of puttv. In the 

 angles of the legs, as well as on the sides of 

 the abdomen, a beautiful bright yellow ob- 

 tains. The pale white is, however, soon 

 changed to darker shades and may become 

 almost brown, a shade which harmonizes 

 with the limbs of the trees on which the 

 animal lives. The length of the body, ex- 

 clusive of the hind limbs, is about two inches. 

 The "trill" of the tree-toad is familiar to 

 all as a call heard during the warm, sultiy 

 evenings of spring and summer, and resem- 

 bling the noise produced by a watchman's 

 rattle. 



When thus calling, the animal may be 

 easily found by a person locating himself 

 near the base of the tree in which the ani- 

 mal rests, and observing the bases of the 

 several limbs as they spring from the trunk. 

 The animal generally chooses this situation 

 for his calling tower, and so interested is he 



