THE SURINAM TOAD. 363 



gliding into the herbage or glittering among the large leaves, than he 

 can no longer control himself. He flies to and fro, he leaps from 

 branch to branch, summoning with a lamentable cry all the feathered 

 tribe from the neighbouring trees. From far and near the cry widens 

 and is repeated ; from all directions flock nightingales, and thrushes, 

 grosbeaks, and humming-birds, and hovering above the assassin, 

 furiously denounce it, and indicate its lurking-place to man. 

 Irritated by such a concert of maledictions, the serpent elevates its 

 crest, but, lo ! they are far beyond its reach ! And the cries, the 

 murmurs, the insults are redoubled ! It seeks to conceal itself, 

 but these cries persistently accompany it. Wherever it drags its 

 slimy shining bulk, they follow, they harass, and they denounce it. 

 Either night comes on, or it succeeds in completely hiding itself 

 from their watchful gaze, before they reluctantly leave it to its 

 own devices. Great the consternation if their enemy escape them ! 

 But what joy, what triumphal sounds, if man appears upon the scene 

 and slays it ! 



I have previously alluded to the enormous toads found in South 

 America, and to the gigantic frog which belongs to the northern 

 continent. Among the former I may particularize as one of the 

 largest known species, the Agua ; and, as remarkable for its mode of 

 gestation, the Pipa. The Surinam Toad, or Pipa Surinamensis 

 (the Bufo Pipa of Linne), is distinguished by its large triangular 

 head, and horizontally flattened body, with a granulated back. It 

 is now ascertained that the female deposits her spawn at the brink 

 of some shallow or stagnant pool ; the male then collects the heap 

 and cautiously places it on the back of the female, where, after 

 impregnation, they are pressed into cellules produced by the tumefac- 

 tion of the skin. In rather less than three months the eggs are 

 hatched, and the young emerge in a complete state. 



The Bull-Frog (Rana pipilus), of North America, is from six to 

 eight inches long and from three to four inches broad. When his 

 limbs are fully extended he measures about eighteen inches in length. 



