THE FROG’S YEAR 58 
to fall back on if necessary. The enanges in diet 
are equally striking. 
But while the elusive tadpoles have been under- 
going development in the relatively safe conditions 
of aquatic life, their parents have been living 
dangerously on land. In April or earlier the old 
frogs pass from the pond or pool to the meadows, 
woods, and fields, where they hunt for insects, 
slugs, worms, and other small fry, which must be 
moving to excite interest. The adults are followed 
in June or July by the froglings of the year, which 
often migrate from the water-pools in huge numbers. 
Their sudden appearance has formed part of the 
basis of stories of frog-showers, and we need not 
smile too broadly who still speak of it “raining 
cats and dogs.” The crowd of small frogs, each 
well under half an inch in length—much shorter 
than the tadpole—is occasionally so thick that when 
we meet them crossing a road we find it difficult 
to pass without treading on them. 
In the fields they indulge their insectivorous 
appetite and grow—but not very quickly. Every 
now and then they molt—that is to say, the outer- 
most layer of the epidermis, often much the worse 
for wear, is split up along the mid-line of the back 
and slipped off. It seems to be good form that 
the frog should tuck its cast slough into its mouth, 
setting a fine example of economy. In spite of 
their adjustable protective coloration, which often 
gives them a garment of invisibility against a back- 
ground of either brown earth or green grass, our 
