The Fauna. 75 



terrified was the girl that, some hours after, her eye 

 imperfectly caught sight of a clipping of black cloth 

 in a corner, when she immediately screamed at the 

 pitch of her voice and made for the door, declaring 

 she would not stay in the house beside these " horrid 

 brutes." 



What has just been recommended regarding newts 

 is equally applicable to frogs, namely, the rearing of 

 them from the spawn until they reach some degree 

 of maturity. No more interesting lesson in natural 

 history could be found than in watching the various 

 stages through which these animals pass — from the 

 fish-like tadpole, with external gills, to the perfect 

 lung-breathing animal. Of the longevity of frogs it 

 is difficult to speak with any degree of certainty, it 

 being always unsafe to rest any theory upon experi- 

 ments which dissociate animals from their natural 

 environment and place them under surveillance in 

 captivity. A case is known of one living for eight 

 years in confinement, when it came to an untimely 

 end. In their native habitat frogs have many enemies, 

 — foxes, otters, and snakes devouring them with great 



