﻿11 
  PREFACE. 
  

  

  and 
  derive 
  from 
  the 
  perusal 
  of 
  these 
  pages 
  one-tenth 
  

   of 
  the 
  pleasure 
  it 
  has 
  given 
  me 
  to 
  write 
  them 
  ; 
  I 
  shall 
  

   feel 
  amply 
  rewarded 
  for 
  the 
  trouble 
  I 
  have 
  taken. 
  

  

  I 
  would 
  also 
  express 
  a 
  hope 
  that 
  a 
  little 
  book 
  of 
  

   this 
  kind, 
  embodying 
  in 
  a 
  concise 
  form 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  

   much 
  study, 
  at 
  present 
  scattered 
  in 
  a 
  multitude 
  of 
  

   publications 
  in 
  some 
  ten 
  different 
  languages, 
  may 
  

   have 
  the 
  effect 
  of 
  stimulating 
  interest 
  to 
  a 
  subject 
  

   that 
  has 
  been 
  too 
  much 
  neglected, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  cultiva- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  which 
  new 
  workers 
  will 
  find 
  much 
  to 
  repay 
  

   their 
  efforts, 
  especially 
  if 
  applied 
  in 
  other 
  regions 
  of 
  

   the 
  globe, 
  which, 
  though 
  much 
  richer 
  in 
  Batrachians, 
  

   have 
  as 
  yet 
  yielded 
  little 
  or 
  nothing 
  to 
  our 
  knowledge 
  

   of 
  the 
  life-histories. 
  

  

  This 
  work 
  has 
  been 
  planned 
  with 
  the 
  view^ 
  of 
  

   assisting 
  the 
  beginner 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  of 
  affording 
  new 
  

   information 
  to 
  the 
  advanced 
  student, 
  and 
  the 
  synoptic 
  

   treatment 
  has 
  therefore 
  been 
  frequently 
  resorted 
  to 
  in 
  

   the 
  Introduction; 
  whilst 
  all 
  descriptions 
  in 
  the 
  sys- 
  

   tematic 
  part 
  are 
  strictly 
  comparative. 
  Technical 
  

   terms 
  have 
  not 
  been 
  avoided, 
  but 
  the 
  numerous 
  figures 
  

   in 
  the 
  text 
  should 
  render 
  them 
  easily 
  intelligible 
  to 
  

   the 
  beginner. 
  

  

  At 
  the 
  desire 
  of 
  the 
  Council 
  of 
  the 
  Ray 
  Society 
  this 
  

   volume 
  is 
  issued 
  in 
  two 
  parts. 
  The 
  second 
  part, 
  

   continuously 
  paged 
  and 
  with 
  bibliographical 
  and 
  alpha- 
  

   betical 
  indexes, 
  is 
  to 
  follow 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  months. 
  

  

  The 
  plates, 
  twenty-four 
  in 
  number, 
  have 
  been 
  exe- 
  

   cuted 
  by 
  Mr. 
  P. 
  J. 
  Smit 
  and 
  printed 
  by 
  Messrs. 
  

   Mintern 
  Brothers. 
  With 
  two 
  exceptions, 
  all 
  the 
  

   coloured 
  figures 
  have 
  been 
  taken 
  from 
  living 
  speci- 
  

   mens. 
  Five 
  of 
  the 
  plates 
  (I, 
  II, 
  III, 
  XYI, 
  XYII) 
  

   have 
  already 
  appeared 
  in 
  the 
  ' 
  Proceedings 
  of 
  the 
  

  

  