STRUCTURE AND II A BIT- / //// tllOO. 1-1 



When tin- yi MI iij; have attained their perfect state, they brwik their way through the 

 rover of tin- o-lK :itnl pr-s,-nt u most singular aspect as th.-\ struggle from the skin. their 

 h. -i.N ;m.l paw- ; loj.i '1:1., :u .ill MHO*!""- Utci the wholi brood liave I. -ft tli. -ii motln-i's 

 back, the cells begin to till up aguin, closing from below as well a.-* from above, ami !, .mm^ 

 irregularly puckered on the doors. The cells in tin- middle of tin- kirk are tin- liiM .le\e|,,|,.-d . 

 the whole process occupies nitlier more than eighty days. 



As its name implies, this singular creature inhabits Surinam, but is aim found in various 

 parts of Central America. In spite of its repulsive aspect, the negroes are said to eat its flesh. 



The color of the Surinam Toad is brownish-olive above, and whitish below. The skin is 

 covered with a large number of tiny ami very hanl granule-, aimm^ which are iiit-rs|-rs.il 

 some horny tuU-rrular projections. The snout is of u very curious shape, the nostrils being 

 l.-n-theii.-d int.. a kin 1 of IcathMJ "il- I IN ihi. MI ..f ill.- m:il<- i> I'm ni-lied with a \.-i> l.n-.- 

 bony apiwr.it u-. of a triangular, box-like shu|x- . and within are two movable pieces by which 

 tin- voice is modulated. 



In the illustration the animal appears one-half of its natural size. 



WK now come to the Batmchians with tongues. In the greater number of these creat- 

 ures, the tongue is fastened to the front of the mouth, and five Itehind. tin- tip i Dinting down 

 tin- throat. The prey is taken by tin- rapid throwing forward of this tongue, and its equally 

 rapid withdrawal into the mouth, carrying the doomed creature on its tip. with such celerity, 

 that tin- eye ran hardly follow the movement. 



The skeleton of the adult Frog is worthy of a short notice before we proceed to the further 

 invest ji^ii ion of these remarkable creatures. The first remarkable point is the shape of the 

 head, and the enormous size of the orbits of the eyes, which are so laiye, that, when the skull 

 i- placed flat upon an open book, several words can be tvad through the orilire-.. \'ery little 

 room is' left for the brain, and. in consequence, the intellectual powers of the Frog are but 

 slender. 



The vertebne are furnished with projections at each side, but tin- ribs are totally wanting. 

 On account of this deficiency, the proceaa of respiration cannot be maintained a.s is usual 

 among the better developed In-in^s. but is similar to that which is employed by the tortoises. 

 The needful movements ore madb not by the sides but by the throat, * that if u quiescent 

 Prog be watched, it appears to be continually guij-in- something down it.s throat, as is indeed 

 the case, the material being air. which is thus forced into the beautifully formed lungs. 



The hind-legs are extremely long, and the toes so much lengthen.il. that in the common 

 Prog the middle toe occupies about three-fifths of the l.-iiirth of the entire body, and in some 

 species is even more produced. Owing to the peculiar shape of the limbs, the Prog when 

 reposing sits almost upright, and is at once ready for the extraordinarily long leaps which it 

 can take when alarmed. The usual mode of progression is by a series of jumps, though of 

 short range, but the creature will often crawl after the fashion of the toad the presence of a 

 snake seeming almost always to have the effect of causing the change of action. 



The skin of the Prog is very porous, and is capable of absorbing and exuding water with 

 wonderful rapidity. If a Frog, for example, be kept for some time in a i-rfectly dry spot, it 

 loses its tine. >leek condition, becomes thin and apparently emaciated, and assumes a very 

 j. liable appearance. But if it l>e then placed merely on wet blotting-paper, its thirsty skin 

 drinks the needful moisture, and it soon In-comes quite plump and fresh. A familiar proof of 

 the extreme porosity of the skin Ls afforded by the dead Frogs which are often found on the 

 highroad or dry paths in the middle of summer, and which are dried into a shrivelled, horny 

 mass, which would be shapeless but for the bones of the skeleton around which the skin and 

 muscles contract. 



The whole of these creatures are most tenacious of life, suffering the severest wounds 

 without appearing to be much injured at the time, and bearing f raes of cold and 



hunger with singular endurance. Heat, however, is always distasteful to the Frog, and when 

 carried to any extreme becomes fatal. In the hot countries, where Progs of various species 

 exist, they all unit.- in the one habit of avoiding the hot beams of the sun by hidinc in 



