THE SURINAM TOAD. 



535 



Here, in the course of about three months, the eggs are hatched, 

 and. the creatures undergo the usual change of the rest of the 

 genus ; first assuming the form of tadpoles, and gradually 

 acquiring their complete shape. When perfected, and pos- 

 sessed of their limbs, they work their way out of the cells ; 

 and it is a curious sight to see them struggling out — their 

 head and paws projecting in all directions from their mother's 

 back — and sliding down on the ground, when they begin to 

 hop merrily about. 



The cells are considerably deeper than wide, and each would 



THE SURINAM TO.A.D. 



contain an ordinary bean thrust endwise into it. The head of 

 the creature is of an unusual shape, as it has a snout with 

 nostrils lengthened into a kind of tube. The skin is of 

 a brownish-olive above, and white below ; and is covered with 

 a number of small, hard granules, with some horny tubercular 

 projections among them. After the brood have left the mother's 

 back, the cells again fill up — the whole process occupying about 

 eight days. 



In spite of the repulsive appearance of the creature, the 

 negroes occasionally eat it. 



