230 FISH CULTURE 



not occur until within a few days of the time 

 when the hind legs should appear. 



As the metamorphosis seems to draw heavily 

 upon the vitality of the tadpole, it is important 

 that the normal growth and strength be fully 

 maintained both by plenty of water room and 

 an abundance of food. Over-crowding will 

 almost invariably result in stunted growth and 

 consequently lowered vitality, even if they 

 appear to be healthy and are active until the 

 very last. As the majority of a single hatch- 

 ing usually develops legs almost simultane- 

 ously, it generally happens that when there 

 has been over-crowding, thousands will die 

 within a few hours. Each tadpole is then only 

 a shape of thick skin filled with a soft mushy 

 material, without bones. In an hour or so 

 after death this mushy material decomposes, 

 the skin bursts and sinks to the bottom. The 

 water, thus polluted, will probably kill the rest, 

 and it is not an uncommon occurrence for the 

 entire stock in the pond to die and utterly dis- 

 appear within twenty-four hours. 



Enemies. Tadpoles have myriads of enemies. 

 The most destructive to the leopard and the 



