96 FEESH-WATBE AQXTABIA. 



quantities, with two or three different kinds of waterweeds. 

 They are very fond of confervse. As they grow they will 

 begin to prefer animal food to vegetable, and small pieces 

 of meat may be given sparingly, as a very little will satisfy a 

 great many tadpoles. All that is not eaten must be removed, 

 or it will corrupt the water. I find that tadpoles, if not 

 kept in too large a number, are very hardy little creatures. 

 They will not die should they have no animal food, but they 

 will remain for a very long time in the tadpole state. 



When the tadpoles have absorbed their tails and have become 

 young frogs, they should be allowed their liberty in the garden, 

 where they will be very useful; for at that time of their life 

 it is a diflB.cult matter to provide them with the necessary 

 food, consisting as it does of minute insects. They will not be 

 worth the trouble, as frogs of a size suited to the aquarium 

 can readily be obtained. 



The Edible Frog iRana esculenta) is larger than the Common 

 Frog {Sana temporaria), and more likely to adapt itself to a 

 life in the tank. It is a great lover of water, and rarely comes 

 to land. It may easily be distinguished from the Common 

 Frog (Fig. 79) by the absence of the black band which runs 

 from behiud the eye of the latter to the shoulder. Though 

 the Edible Frog is not indigenous to this country, it can be 

 found in Cambridgeshire and in some other parts of England. 

 As it is a very handsome animal, it is well worth the extra 

 trouble of procuring instead of the common kind. 



The frog feeds upon insects, worms, slugs, and the like, 

 and its manner of feeding is interesting and peculiar. The 

 prey is captured by the help of the tongue, which is a very 

 curious member, being, unlike most tongues, fixed in front 

 and free behind, and capable, therefore, of a great reach. 

 The tongue is also covered with a very sticky secretion, 

 which enables it to withdraw every insect it touches into the 

 mouth. 



Frogs, though they possess lungs, have at the same time 

 the power of cutaneous respiration : that is, they are able to 

 breathe, as it were, through the skin. Hence they can hve 

 for a considerable time under water. This cutaneous respira- 



