182 THE FROG. 



inches in length. The general colour of both sexes is a 

 blackish brown. The female is furnished with a number 

 of small cells all over her back. When she has deposited 

 her spawn, it is taken by the male, who rubs it into the 

 cells on her back, which immediately close over it. In 

 these cells, the tadpole is hatched, and undergoes its usual 

 changes, not coming forth till it has attained its perfect 

 form. The number of young has been observed to amount 

 to seventy-five in the back of one female. 



THE FROG. 



This genus admits of being divided into, 1st, Frogs 

 which leap when disturbed; and 2d, slender limbed 

 Frogs. They all feed on insects and worms, reside 

 principally under ground, or partly in water, in dark lonely 

 places, and come out mostly at night. Some, however, 

 reside in trees. None of them drink, but all absorb in 

 moisture through the skin. They are oviparous, and 

 their eggs are like jelly and adhere together, some in 

 irregular heaps, some in a cylindrical worm-like figure. 

 The animal, when first hatched, is called a tadpole ; it is 

 formed like a fish, and resides in the water. After some 

 time the legs grow, and then the tail falls off. They 

 attain their perfect size and form in about four years, and 

 live at most ten or twelve. 



THE COMMON FROG 



Is found every where in moist places, or such as afford a 

 sufficient supply of food, which consists of insects, 

 worms, &c. Its prevailing colour is an olive brown, 

 varied with blackish spots ; beneath, it is of a pale greenish 

 yellow very indistinctly marked. The form of the frog is 

 light and elegant, and its movements are very lively. Its 

 hind feet are strongly webbed, it is an excellent swimmer, 

 and chiefly inhabits the water during the heats of summer 

 and the colds of winter ; this last season it passes in a 

 state of torpidity. When first the animals have changed 

 the state of tadpole for that of Frog, they issue out of the 

 water in such numbers as to cover the banks, and have 

 thus given rise to the opinion of their falling sometimes 



