﻿EANA. 
  283 
  

  

  are 
  men 
  in 
  France 
  who 
  earn 
  a 
  living 
  for 
  six 
  months 
  

   in 
  the 
  year 
  by 
  frog-fishing. 
  No 
  tackle 
  is 
  nsed 
  : 
  a 
  

   piece 
  of 
  red 
  flannel, 
  or 
  better 
  the 
  skin 
  of 
  a 
  frog, 
  

   rolled-np 
  in 
  a 
  ball 
  about 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  an 
  acorn, 
  attached 
  

   to 
  a 
  line, 
  is 
  agitated 
  at 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  water 
  and 
  

   greedily 
  seized 
  by 
  the 
  frog, 
  which 
  is 
  hauled 
  up 
  before 
  

   it 
  has 
  time 
  to 
  let 
  go. 
  An 
  interesting 
  account 
  of 
  this 
  

   mode 
  of 
  capture 
  has 
  been 
  published 
  by 
  R. 
  Hollinat, 
  

   ' 
  Bull. 
  Soc. 
  Aquic. 
  France' 
  (2), 
  vi, 
  1894, 
  p. 
  37. 
  This 
  

   frog 
  is 
  very 
  voracious, 
  and 
  large 
  specimens 
  will 
  occa- 
  

   sionally 
  capture 
  snakes 
  and 
  small 
  mammals 
  and 
  birds. 
  

  

  Pairing 
  does 
  not 
  take 
  place, 
  in 
  the 
  typical 
  form, 
  

   until 
  May 
  in 
  the 
  northern 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  Continent, 
  

   earlier 
  in 
  the 
  south, 
  viz. 
  end 
  of 
  March 
  or 
  beginning 
  

   of 
  April 
  in 
  Southern 
  Italy. 
  The 
  var. 
  ridibunda 
  breeds 
  

   about 
  a 
  fortnight 
  sooner, 
  near 
  Berlin 
  towards 
  the 
  

   beginning 
  or 
  middle 
  of 
  May, 
  and 
  the 
  spawning 
  appears 
  

   to 
  be 
  usually 
  over 
  by 
  the 
  time 
  the 
  typical 
  form 
  sets 
  

   to 
  this 
  duty, 
  which 
  also 
  lasts 
  over 
  a 
  more 
  extended 
  

   period, 
  often 
  until 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  June 
  or 
  beginning 
  of 
  

   July. 
  This 
  difference 
  in 
  the 
  spawning 
  season 
  is 
  the 
  

   important 
  factor 
  which 
  permits 
  the 
  existence 
  in 
  the 
  

   same 
  locality 
  of 
  two 
  forms 
  so 
  closely 
  allied 
  and, 
  as 
  

   ascertained 
  by 
  Pfliiger, 
  fertile 
  when 
  crossed, 
  occasions 
  

   for 
  interbreeding 
  being 
  comparatively 
  rare. 
  We 
  have 
  

   thus 
  here 
  an 
  example 
  of 
  what 
  is 
  known 
  in 
  botany 
  as 
  

   " 
  asyngamy." 
  As 
  far 
  as 
  my 
  experience 
  goes, 
  the 
  

   females 
  of 
  the 
  var. 
  ridibunda 
  get 
  rid 
  of 
  their 
  eggs 
  

   within 
  a 
  very 
  few 
  days. 
  On 
  the 
  27th 
  May, 
  1884, 
  I 
  

   received 
  from 
  Berlin 
  85 
  specimens 
  of 
  the 
  var. 
  ridibunda 
  

   and 
  41 
  of 
  the 
  typical 
  form, 
  and 
  found 
  that 
  all 
  the 
  

   females 
  of 
  the 
  former 
  were 
  spent, 
  whereas 
  all 
  the 
  

   latter 
  were 
  full 
  of 
  ova. 
  In 
  May, 
  1886, 
  at 
  Berlin, 
  I 
  

   observed 
  the 
  ridibunda 
  form 
  spawning 
  between 
  the 
  

   14th 
  and 
  20th, 
  whilst 
  the 
  typical 
  form 
  was 
  only 
  

   beginning 
  to 
  pair; 
  however, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  great 
  heat 
  

   that 
  followed, 
  great 
  numbers 
  of 
  the 
  latter 
  were 
  

   spawning 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  later. 
  

  

  The 
  male 
  clasps 
  the 
  female 
  under 
  the 
  arms, 
  the 
  

  

  