BRITISH AMPHIBIANS 



of a host of very minute but active amoehocytes — little 

 creatures who comprise the very simplest form of life. 

 These set to, and by dint of sheer unremitting toil the 

 labour is at last accomplished. 



" But tragedy crowns the efforts ; the anioebocytes 

 have so overwrought themselves that they die actually of 

 overwork, and with the sudden stoppage of their labour 

 death supervenes — no profiteering, no unemployment 

 benefit, no old-age pension, no retirement of ease, not 

 even thanks from the beneficiary, for these hardy 

 workers." 



If an army of young Frogs or Toads is encountered at 



the time they have just vacated their hatching quarters, 



and they are on the march, a wonderful sight is presented. 



Many, like their human prototypes, fall by the way, a 



prey to the numerous enemies that beset them, for, let 



it be said, a young Frog, just fresh from its life in a pond, 



is too tempting a morsel for birds and other wild creatures 



to pass over. Many, too, get crushed under foot, 



especially by motor traffic, as these Frog armies have a 



distinct liking for crossing roads during the great marches 



upon which they engage. Whither are they travelling ? 



What instinct is it within them that prompts this perilous, 



but uncontrollable desire to press forw^ard ? Curious, 



that in after days, w^hen they have reached the adult 



state, some of these little amphibians return to the same 



pond they left in days gone by. They return, of course, 



for breeding purposes, and have an unfailing habit of 



returning to the same pond year after year. Social in 

 32 



