CONCERNING TADPOLES 



19s 



MIDWIFE TOAD. 



holding it with both 

 hands. This vigil 

 he keeps while 

 the young are un- 

 dergoing develop- 

 ment, the whole of 

 the larval and tad- 

 polelifebeingpassed 

 within the egg, so 

 that on hatching 

 they escape asyoung 

 frogs. 



More remarkable 

 is the case of the 

 celebrated Midwife 



Toad {Alytes ohstetricans). The eggs are attached one to 

 another by threads, as if on a string ; and as soon as laid, 

 and fertilised, the male proceeds to wind these strings of 

 eggs around his hind-legs. Thus laden, he retreats to a 

 hole in the ground, stealing forth at night to feed, and to 

 bathe the eggs in dew or, when possible, in water. Owing 



to the large 

 amount of food- 

 yolk stored up 

 within the eggs, 

 the greater part 

 of the larval 

 stage is passed 

 before hatching, 

 which takes place 

 in about three 

 weeks, the young 

 being liberated 



