1 90 A GARDEN DIARY 



dilations of the chest, Nature not having provided 

 them with ribs, but by the doubtless more archaic 

 process of swallowing air. Not only would a frog 

 die if kept too long under water, but seeing that 

 it can only swallow air by shutting its mouth 

 were that mouth kept forcibly open it would equally 

 die, and from the same cause, namely, want of 

 breath. Tadpoles, on the other hand, are strictly 

 water -breathers, and until they have shed their 

 gills, have no more need to go to the surface to 

 breathe than a fish has. That, by the way is not 

 an absolutely accurate illustration, seeing that 

 certain fishes do need to go to the surface for 

 air. The famous Anabas, or "climbing perch" 

 of India, is such an air-breathing fish, the air 

 reaching it by means of cavities on either side 

 of its gills, and if prevented from reaching the 

 surface, and renewing the supply, it would "drown 

 like a dog," or so the scientists assert. Such 

 cases, however, can hardly be called normal. 

 Fishes that can live comfortably for days out of 

 the water, that can nest in a bush, and travel 

 across a particularly dry country, are not likely 

 to be met with in zoologic rambles about this 

 parish. 



Returning to our Irish frogs, it is an odd fact, 

 especially considering their recent introduction, 

 that in addition to swarming over the lowlands, 

 and in every place dear to frogs, they have learnt 

 to climb long distances up hill, and to establish 



