Zoological ProUems for Natural History Society. 5 



but there are others in which it is yet to be done. The 

 Vertebrata are, of course, all fairly well known. The 

 Entomological Society, which, in my humble judgment, 

 ought to be a section of this Society, has, no doubt, 

 prepared a list of the insects, but I doubt very much 

 whether any list of the Crustacea and Arachnida, to say 

 nothing of the various groups of worms, has been made. 



Once such a list has been made, innumerable interesting 

 problems suggest themselves, of whicli I can select two or 

 three as examples. We have, for instance, at least, four 

 species of frogs in the neighboring country. The great 

 bull-frog, or Canadian nightingale, Eana Catesbiana, 

 attains a considerable size, and has a dull, yellowish, 

 brown skin, sprinkled with minute black dots. Not 

 attaining quite this size is the green frog, Eana clamata, 

 the skin of which is of a uniform dull green, and which 

 has an immensely developed tympanum or ear-drum. The 

 common grass frog, Eana halecena, is much smaller, and has 

 skin varying in color from bright green to golden brown 

 and is diversified by oblong black patches. Finally, we 

 have the wood fros;, said to be identical with the common. 

 English species, Eana temporaria. This variety has a 

 uniformly brown skin above and yellow beneath. I have 

 not yet come across examples of this species. 



Now the question arises, do these species differ from 

 one another in their mode of life or not, and are their 

 specific marks related to their surroundings ? 



With regard to the grass frog, Eana halecena, I may 

 mention an observation which I myself made. I noticed 

 at Ste. Eose a specimen on the grassy bank of the river. 

 When not moving it was absolutely impossible to see it, 

 the black patches on the green ground harmonized so 

 completely with the color of the blades of grass and the 

 shadows they threw. Now, it is stated that the bull-frog 

 rarely leaves the water, and one might surmise that the 

 muddy color of the skin resembled that of the muddy 



