FROGS. 33 



The tadpole of the cricket frog develops in about the same length 

 of time as that of the peeper. The tadpoles of the former transform 

 the same season the eggs are, laid and seldom exceed IJ inches in 

 length. They are larger than peeper tadpoles, have the crests 

 blotched like tree-toad tadpoles, but have not the scarlet color of 

 these creatures. The conspicuous character is the arrangement of 

 coloration on the muscular part of the tail. There are four long 

 bands — the first a brown band from body to tip of the tail; above 

 this a cream white band, followed by another brown band to tail tip; 

 and this surmounted by another short cream wdiite band. There are 

 two rows of teeth on the upper lip and three complete rows on the 

 lower, as in the case of some of the frogs. 



TRANSITION STAGES (PLS. XXI AND XXIl). 



Many of the attempts at frog culture have consisted in carrying 

 eggs through hatching or even in carrying tadpoles through to trans- 

 formation ; but the efforts have ended at the latter stage. In nature, 

 there is always considerable loss of tadpoles particularly just before 

 transformation, and hitherto, in captivity, the same trouble has often 

 been encountered. Some culturists might, therefore, prefer to begin 

 their first efforts with the transformed frogs which have passed the 

 critical stage, and thus avoid this large percentage of loss of stock. 

 In many ways it is easier than gathering mated pairs or eggs and 

 ought to be almost as successful as the capture with a seine of tad- 

 poles or of individual adults at breeding time. At the approach of 

 the transformation the tadpoles continually remain in the shallows. 

 To be forehanded, a person might pull a minnow seine along such 

 an area, particularly if it be somewhat or quite weedy, and obtain 

 four-legged stages with the stumps of the tail remaining. These 

 complete the tail absorption in a few days and are often easier of 

 capture than the spry small frogs along the bank. If one try to 

 make the captures immediately after transformation is wholly com- 

 pleted, he will have considerable success with leopard frogs and pick- 

 erel frogs and often secure 50 to 100 frogs at one time. The aquatic 

 forms, the small green frogs and bullfrogs, however, immediately leap 

 into the water at one's approach and never start landward through 

 the vegetation, as the young leopard frogs and pickerel frogs so com- 

 m(nily do. 



Desirable Species. — All of the four principal desirable species 

 for the frog market (the leopard frog, the pickerel frog, the green 

 frog, and tiie bullfrog) transform at an average size of 1 to 2 inches, 

 while aU the possible or undesirable species usually transform at sizes 

 below that of 1 inch. Of course, the danger comes in the layman 

 mistaking a growing undesirable form for a transformed frog of a 

 desirable species; but if he thoroughly learns the cardinal characters 

 of the four adult commercial frogs no error should occur, for the young 

 frogs are sufficient rephcas or duplicates of the adults to make their 

 identification easy. 



Most of the leopard-frog tadpoles change to small frogs in July, 

 although a few may wait until August before complete transforma- 

 tion. The average range of dates extends from June 30 to July 25, 

 with the bulk of the transformations occurring in mid-July, the latest 

 ones recorded being on August 6. At the approach of transformation 



