A HISTORY OF NORFOLK 



long existed in those localities, and from the loudness of its voice had 

 gained the names, ' Whaddon organ ' and ' Dutch nightingale.' Sub- 

 sequently it became known that the late Mr. George Berney of Morton 

 Hall, near Norwich, had in 1837 brought from Brussels and Paris two 

 hundred edible frogs and a large quantity of spawn, which he deposited 

 in the meadows and ditches at Morton, Hockering and Foulden, Norfolk. 

 In 1 841 he imported another lot from Brussels, and again, in 1842, others 

 from St. Omar ; these were deposited in the same places and many 

 hundreds in the fens at Foulden. In June, 1853, nothing having been 

 heard of Mr. Berney's importations in the meantime, Professor Newton 

 discovered a colony of these animals at Rockland All Saints ; again, in 

 May, 1876, he rediscovered them in a pond at Stow Bedon after they 

 had been searched for in vain in the former place. It might have been 

 fairly assumed that these Norfolk colonies were descended from Mr. 

 Berney's introduced frogs and were therefore of the French or Belgian 

 form, which Mr. Boulenger distinguishes as Rana esculenta typica ; but 

 that gentleman upon examining specimens from all three localities was 

 surprised to find that though those from Foulden belonged to this form 

 and doubtless owed their introduction to Mr. Berney, others obtained 

 from Foulmere (Cambs.) and Stow Bedon (Norfolk) proved to be 

 examples of a race abundant in Italy, which he names K. esculenta lessona, 

 Camerano, and with regard to which it seems exceedingly difficult to 

 imagine when, and under what circumstances, it could have been intro- 

 duced here by man. The conclusion to which Mr. Boulenger arrives is 

 as follows: ^ 'A great deal of discussion has taken place as to whether the 

 edible frog is indigenous in England or introduced ; the balance of 

 evidence seems to be in favour of the latter supposition, although we do 

 not know when and by whom the Cambridgeshire and Stow Bedon 

 colonies were imported. The fact that they belong to a race especially 

 abundant in Italy, and formerly believed to be confined to that country, 

 has suggested the idea that they may be of Italian origin, perhaps in- 

 troduced by the monks.' However that may be, we have in Norfolk 

 both the typical form introduced by Mr. Berney, and the Italian form of 

 unknown origin. 



REPTILES 



1. Common Lizard. Lacerta vivlpara, Jacq. worm.' The real glow-worm being called 

 The common lizard is frequent on sandy '^e 'glaze-worm.' 



heaths, hedge-banks and dry places. Locally 3. Common or Ringed Snake. Tropidonotus 

 known as the ' swift.' natrix, Linn. 



2. Slow- worm. Anguis fragilis, Linn. The common or ringed snake is, although 

 _, , . . not so common as formerly, still abundant in 

 The slow-worm is not uncommon on dry ^^j^^^j^ localities. 



heaths and in woods, but shows a remarkable 



partiality for particular spots, where it may 4- Viper or Adder. Fipera herus, Linn. 



be looked for with tolerable certainty. It is The viper is frequent on heaths and waste 



known here in some districts as the 'glow- places. 



* Tail/ess Batrachians of Europe, part ii. p. 287 : Ray Society, 1898. 



218 



