86 HALF-HOURS IN THE GREEN LANES. 



folds along the sides and hips. Then, grasping one 

 hind leg with both the front ones, it draws the skin 

 off as if it were a pair of stockings. The skin on the 

 other leg follows in a similar manner, and so, in 

 short, does the rest of the loose skin. When all this 

 is finished the toad makes a hearty meal of it. 



As Dr. Cooke remarks (' British Keptiles '), the 

 toad is much more terrestrial in its habits than 

 the frog. Like the latter, its ova are deposited in 

 water, and its larva are tadpoles, and therefore fitted 

 for an aquatic life. " Toad rudd " or " spawn " may 

 be known from the ova of frogs by its being arranged 

 in double chains, and not deposited in a mass. The 

 natterjack toad deposits its spawn in a similar 

 manner, and its young also assume the tadpole form 

 a common feature of the amphibia. Calculations 

 have been made to show the wondrous fertility of 

 the toads, and it has been computed that the female 

 natterjack does not lay less than nineteen thousand 

 eggs ! It is well such is the case, and, as you may 

 see in the shallower parts of the tarn, nothing less 

 than an enormous fertility could develop such hosts 

 of tadpoles, for the water is perfectly thick and 

 black with them ! But think of the enemies to 

 which they are subject, and how many of them ! 

 The fierce larva of the dragon-fly, of the great water 

 beetle, the boat-flies, newts, fishes, sticklebacks, &c. 

 the tadpole has all these to withstand ; and the chief 

 defence of the species, if not of the individuals, is 

 that it brings forth such a numerous offspring ! 



