WILD LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 339 



them on the roofs of outhouses which were covered 

 with ivy ; they must have got up the ivy. Their 

 toes are, indeed, to a certain degree prehensile, and 

 they can cling with them. They sometimes make a 

 low sound while in the ivy on such roofs ; to my ear 

 it sounds like a hoarse " coo." Cats occasionally 

 catch frogs by the leg, and torment them, letting 

 the creature go only to seize it again, and finally 

 devouring it. The wretched creature squeals with pain 

 and terror exactly as when caught by a snake. 



No surer sign of coming rain than the appearance 

 of the toad on the garden paths is known. Many 

 cottage folk will still tell you that the hundreds and 

 hundreds of tiny frogs which may sometimes be seen 

 quite covering the ground fall from the sky, notwith- 

 standing the fact that they do not appear during the 

 rain, but a short time afterwards. And there are 

 certain places where such crowds of these creatures 

 may be oftener found than elsewhere. I knew one 

 such place ; it was a gateway where the clayey soil 

 for some way round the approach had been trampled 

 firm by the horses and cattle. This gateway was 

 close to a slowly running brook, so slow as to be all 

 but stagnant. Here I have seen legions of them on 

 several occasions, all crowding on the ground worn 

 bare of grass, as if they preferred that to the herbage. 



Newts seem to prefer stagnant or nearly stagnant 

 ponds, and are rarely seen in running water. Clay- 

 pits from whence clay has been dug for brickmaking, 

 and which are now full of water, are often frequented 



