RANA AND BUFO. 
ELONGING to the lower vertebrates is a family of 
animals called scientifically Ranida, but which are, 
popularly speaking, best known as frogs. They are queer- 
looking creatures, scarcely met with in Australia and South 
America, but reaching their highest state in the East Indies. 
They are capable of enduring great changes of heat and 
cold, and can live on land as well as in water, provided they 
have the amount of moisture necessary to preserve the 
suppleness of their skins. Salt water is fatal to the frog in 
any stage of its existence. 
Rana clamata, the lusty croaker of the summer pond, is 
our most familiar species. He may be recognized by the 
colors of his dress, in which green, bronze, gold and silver 
play important parts, and by the ear-splitting character of 
his vocal intonations. The glandular ridges down the skin 
of his back, together with his strange coloration, singularly 
fit him for his home. Imitations of the stems of plants are 
seen in the darker ridges, and their leafage in the green 
color of his coat. The silver of his vest has the glimmer of 
the water in which he bathes, and the moist earth seems to 
have left its stain upon his brownish feet and markings, 
while the yellow of the several badges that adorn his person 
in being like the stamens and pistils of the surrounding 
flowers, and of the hue of many buds and blossoms, adds 
largely to his protective display. Thus is the frog in his 
natural haunts protected by his garments, and, unless he 
stirs or is betrayed by his full, bright eyes or the palpitation 
of his breast, he is not likely to be observed. 
