THE BULLFROG 



to3 



tidy (frees himself from the remains of the eggs) and 

 resumes his normal appearance. 



Certain frogs are termed tree-frogs, and of their typical 

 genus [Hyla) there are thirteen species in Xorth A merica, 

 and eighty-seven in tropical America, while only one lias 

 a home in Europe. These tree-frogs are remarkable 

 for their adaptation to arboreal life, the ends of their 

 fingers being spread out so as to form suckers, by which 

 they can easily adhere to the leaves of trees. The 

 European species, the green frog, has a wide range^ 

 though it does not extend to the British Isles. It is a 

 very elegant, attractive little animal, but visitors to the 

 Riviera may often wonder how so small a creature can 

 make so great a noise. We have heard them in the hills 

 about Alassio giving forth a sound as if some large steam- 

 engine were hard at work in the vicinity. 



Frogs that live on trees may, in spite of their adhesive 

 finger tips, sometimes fall ; and it would be a great gain 

 to such creatures if they possessed anything like a helpful 

 parachute, as the so-called " flying " squirrels and " flying " 

 opossums — animals w^hich have such a help — in an exten- 

 sion of the skin of the flanks. 



Bats are flying beasts now, and pterodactyls were flying 

 reptiles in former ages. Whether any batrachian can in 

 any sense be said to fly, we will not venture to aflirm, 

 but there is certainly one tree-frog which seems as if its 

 feet might at least serve as a parachute. Mr. Alfred R. 

 Wallace, in his travels in the Malay Archipelago, 

 encountered in Borneo a creature which he declares to be 

 " the first instance known of a flying frog.'* Of this 

 animal he gives the following account : " One of the 

 most curious and interesting creatures which I met with 

 in Borneo was a large tree frog which was brought me 

 by one of the Chinese workmen. He assured me that he 



