X 

 THE HABITS OF FROGS 



THE mild days of March witness in many of 

 the more secluded parts of the country a sight 

 which is not to be quite matched by anything 

 in nature. Frogs pass the winter in a state of 

 torpidity. They bury themselves deeply out of sight 

 in moist banks or beneath the roots of trees, or, best 

 of all, in the spaces between large stones loosely 

 piled together. Great numbers are sometimes dug 

 out of such retreats in winter, and they generally 

 lie packed and flattened together almost in a soUd 

 mass ; probably, like hibernating bees, in order that 

 the temperature may be kept a degree or two above 

 a minimum-point at which it soon becomes fatal. 

 Frogs when they retire for the winter take leave of 

 food, for they eat nothing for four or five months. 

 Yet the remarkable fact is that when they emerge 

 from their long sleep in the month of March the 

 females are ready to spawn. Both sexes almost 

 immediately make for water, and it is one of the 

 most remarkable sights to come across a meeting- 

 place of a certain established kind. Everyone of 

 course has seen occasional frogs seeking water in 

 early spring. This is not what is meant. Hidden 



143 



