514 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 
about in the pool (indeed it was their croaking that led me 
to the spot), and within about three yards of the first string 
of spawn was a second, apparently only newly completed. 
Hitherto the Common Toad and the Common Frog have been 
regarded as the two European types in which there is least 
individual divergence in the breeding-time. The discovery 
of the former spawning in June is, therefore, Mr Boulenger 
(to whom the specimens and some of the spawn have been 
sent) tells me, a matter of very considerable interest. The 
reason for the present divergence is difficult to explain. The 
locality is practically at sea-level, and in as genial a spot as 
almost anywhere in the Lothians. The fact, however, that 
the pool, owing to its position, is hidden entirely from 
the sun’s rays, except for a short time in the early 
part of the day, may account to some extent for the 
aberration. 
The spawn, as most of you are aware, instead of being 
deposited in a cluster like that of the Frog, takes the form of 
a double string of gelatinous beads festooned about the stems 
and branches of water-weeds. Bell says that these strings 
are from 3 to 4 feet in length. Those I have examined, 
however, have been much longer—one (in the double state) 
measured on 9th April 1893, in a deep pool near Aberdour, 
was about 9 feet in extent, and was estimated to contain 
fully 3000 ova. When newly deposited, the ova are of 
course closer together and the strings shorter than after they 
have been some time in the water. Mr L. Greening states 
that he has counted from 900 to 1300 eggs in a string, and 
considers 1100 about the average; this, however, would appear 
to be much under the mark. In France, M. Héron-Royer 
(op. cit.) has counted 4972, 6326, and 6840. From a spirit 
specimen of a female captured near Winchburgh on 2nd April 
last, before any spawn had been deposited, I have taken 
the ova and carefully counted all that were advanced 
enough to have been laid this year: the number is 1911. 
The two strings of ova obtained at Longniddry on 13th 
June have also been counted; one contained 3132, the 
other, 4152. 
While collecting Newts last spring in a pond where toads 
