CHAPTER XVII 

 COMMON FROGS AND SALAMANDERS 



How many different kinds of toads and frogs do we 

 know ? Encourage the children to bring in as many 

 kinds as they can find, and study and compare them a 

 little as to size, color and markings, habits and habitats. 

 Learn their different notes, make feeding tests with each, 

 study the season of spawning and the characteristic appear- 

 ance of the eggs and, in a word, since they are all good 

 friends, begin to make their acquaintance. 



And first, I wonder how many know the difference 

 between a frog and a toad. Aside from mere outward 

 appearances, form, warty skin, colors, etc., which are 

 not very constant, one of the prime differences is that 

 toads have no teeth on their upper jaws, while the frogs 

 always do. Here is a little matter of the common use of 

 the English language that might as well be set right in 

 the beginning. It is as easy to say "tree frog" as it is 

 to say "tree toad," and since they are all frogs we may 

 as well call them so. In case of doubt, gently open the 

 mouth and pass a finger along the upper jaw, and if teeth 

 are present, we will call it a frog, if not, a toad. 



Our froglike animals are further divided into two great 

 classes : those in which the adults have tails, and those 

 that have none. Here is another little matter of good 

 English that we may learn rightly to begin with. 

 Our long-tailed Batrachia (frogs and salamanders) are 



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