700 



A HISTORY OF 



days more they are perceived to have two 

 little fringes, that serve as fins, beneath the 

 head ; and these, in four days after, assume 

 a more perfect form, ft is then, also, that 

 they are seen to feed very greedily upon the 

 pond-weed with which they are to he suppli- 

 ed ; and, leaving their former food, on this 

 they continue to subsist till they arrive at 

 maturity. When they come to be ninety-two 

 days old, two small feet are seen beginning 

 to bourgeon near the tail: and the head ap- 

 pears to be separate from the body. The 

 next day, the legs are considerably enlarged : 

 four days after they refuse all vegetable food; 

 their mouth appears furnished with teeth; 

 and their hinder-logs are completely formed. 

 In two days more the arms are completely 

 produced; and now the frog is everyway 

 perfect, except that it still continues to carry 

 the tail. In this odd situation the animal, re- 

 sembling at once both a frog and a lizard, is 

 seen frequently rising to the surface, not to 

 take food, but to breath. In this state it 

 continues for about six or eight hours, and 

 then, the tail dropping off by degrees, the 

 animal appears in its most perfect form. 



Thus the frog, in less than a day, having 

 changed its figure, is seen to change its ap- 

 petites also. So extraordinary is this trans- 

 formation, that the food it fed upon so 

 greedily but a few days before, is now utter- 

 ly rejected ; it would even starve if supplied 

 with no other. As soon as the animal 

 acquires its perfect state, from having fed 

 upon vegetables, it becomes carnivorous, and 

 lives entirely upon worms and insects. But 

 as the water cannot supply these, it is oblig- 

 ed to quit its native element, and seek for 

 food upon land, where it lives by hunting 

 worms, and taking insects by surprise. At 

 first, being feeble and unable to bear the 

 warmth of the sun, it hides among bushes and 

 under stones; but when a shower comes to 

 refresh the earth, then the whole multitude 

 are seen to quit their retreats, in order to 

 enjoy the grateful humidity. Upon many 

 occasions the ground is seen perfectly black- 

 ened with their numbers: some hunting for 

 prey, and some seeking secure lurking places. 

 From the myriads that offer on such occa- 

 sions, some have been induced to think that 

 fchege animals were generated in the clouds, 



and thus showered down on the earth. But 

 had they, like Derham, traced them to the 

 next pool, they would have tbund out a better 

 solution for the difficulty. 



The frog lives for the most part out of the 

 water ; but when the cold nights begin to set 

 in, it returns to its native element, always 

 choosing stagnant waters, where it can lie 

 without danger concealed at the bottom. In 

 this manner it continues torpid, or with but 

 very little motion, all the winter: like the 

 rest of the dormant race, it requires no food ; 

 and the circulation is slowly carried on with- 

 out any assistance from the air. 



It is at the approach of spring that all these 

 animals are roused from a stale of slumber 

 to a state of enjoyment. A short time after 

 they rise from the bottom they begin to pair, 

 while those that are as yet too young come 

 upon land before the rest. For this reason, 

 while the old ones continue concealed in the 

 beginning of spring, the small ones are more 

 frequently seen ; the former remaining in the 

 lake to propagate, while the latter are not 

 yet arrived at a state of maturity. 



The difference of sexes, which was men- 

 tioned above, is not perceivable in these 

 animals, until they have arrived at their 

 fourth year; nor do they begin to propagate,, 

 till they have completed that period. By com- 

 paring their slow growth with theirotherhabi- 

 tudes, it would appear that they live about 

 twelve years; but having so many enemies, 

 both by land and water, it is probable that 

 few of them arrive at the end of their term. 



Frogs live upon insects of all kinds; but 

 they never eat any unless they have motion. 

 They continue fixed and immoveable till 

 their prey appears ; and just when it comes 

 sufficiently near, they jump forward with 

 great agility, dart out their tongues, and seize 

 it with certainty. The tongue, in this animal, 

 as in the toad, lizard, and serpent kinds, is 

 extremely long, and formed in such a manner, 

 that it swallows the point down its throat; so 

 that a length of tongue is thus drawn out, 

 like a sword from its scabbard, to assail its 

 prey. This tongue is furnished with a glu- 

 tinous substance ; and whatever insect it 

 touches, infallibly adheres, and is thus held 

 fast till it is dratvn into the mouth. 



As the frog is thus supplied with the power 



