A Turn-Coat of the Woods 



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and sometimes before ; and it outlasts the clamor 

 of all the other frogs and toads, which grow 

 quiet as the hot, dry days of early summer come 

 on, while our hyla sings away until autumn. 

 It is at night, however, that he is noisiest, for it 

 is then he is most awake and busy, especially 

 when it is wet. His skin, despite its thick and 

 rough appearance, is exceedingly sensitive to 

 changes in the atmosphere, and he is a fairly 

 trustworthy prophet of rain. It is said that 

 the German peasants sometimes keep them in 

 captivity, so as to know when it will be safe to 

 go to picnics ; at any rate, let a damp, rainy day 

 come in July or August, and the air is at once 

 filled with the " croaks " of their loquacious 

 race, whether in rejoicing or distress it is hard 

 to say the former, I guess. It is an old saying 

 that tree-frogs crawl up to the branches of trees 

 before a change in the weather. 



In early spring the noise is made mainly by 

 the males calling to the females to come down 

 with them to the water-side. As soon as the 

 warm days of late March or early April arouse 

 these, as well as other frogs, from dormancy, 

 *> 215 &o 



