Remarks on Hyla fe moralis, $c. 95 



tiles, ever saw the frog itself ; or at least they never recognised 

 it as the creature to which they are indebted for so much plea- 

 sure. The "voice of the turtle," so often mentioned in Scrip- 

 ture, in connexion with the text above quoted, probably gave 

 origin to the singular notion somewhat prevalent, that the spotted 

 backed turtle, (Emys punctata) was here implied, which inhabits 

 the same morass whence this shrill sound proceeds. Others 

 suppose it to proceed from the speckled frog, (Rana fontinalis) 

 or from some species of this family, with which they are better 

 acquainted. 



About forty years since, a farmer boy, I first satisfied my 

 own curiosity by catching the creature in the very act of vocif- 

 erating, the well known monosyllable peep peep* This was 

 effected by wading, soon after sunset } into a wet meadow where 

 these frogs were numerous. As I approached, every voice was 

 hushed, every head hidden. I stood perfectly motionless for a 

 considerable time, until at length an individual near my feet 

 resumed its piping. Presently the inflation and collapse of the 

 membrane beneath the throat, (occasioning the emission of 

 sound) caught my eye. In the twilight, nothing more of the 

 creature could be seen. With a quick motion, the frog, together 

 with a handful of mud and grass, was seized, borne in triumph 

 home, placed in a glass vessel, and examined at leisure. 



The piping of the Hyla commences 'as soon as the frost is out 

 of the swamps, in which they have hybernated, and is continued 

 usually through the month of May. They are silent, in summer. 

 The same note from a solitary individual on some tree, vine or 

 bush, is sometimes heard in autumn ; but whether it proceeds 

 from the same creature or from some other, that mimics its voice, 

 I have never been able to determine. It is not improbable how- 

 ever, that though thus out of season, it comes from the frog 

 itself. Thus also in the autumn a few trees* will blossom, and 

 birds| sometimes resume their spring notes. So likewise may it 

 not be inferred, that this favorite saluter of Spring, sometimes 

 though rarely, exhibits this anomalous trait ? 



* The apple avd pewr; Cinnamon Rose) (Rosa dnnaanomea] Japan Quince, (Cydonia japo- 

 H/crt) occasionally blossom in autumn. 



f The blue bird (Sylvia sialis. Wilson) often fe visits the spot where it has reared its young 

 Ui* previous spring, and there continues two or three days before its departure to the South. 



