THE BULL-FEOG. 159 



G.— THE AMPHIBIANS. 



45. THE BULL-FEOG. 



DiscoTEEY OF THE BuLL-FEOGr. — The first mention of the Bull-frog, Bana Catesbiana, Shaw, 

 is found in the eighteenth volume of the Philosophical Transactions, published in London in 1694, 

 in which Clayton alludes to it as being a larger Frog than any found in England, and one 

 which "makes a noise something like the bellowing of a bull.'" Tears later it was accurately 

 described by Catesby under the name of "Bull-frog," an appellation by which it is now universally 

 known. 



Eange. — The geographical range of the Bull-frog has never been accurately defined. It is 

 found in all the States on the Atlantic seaboard, and in Canada. In the collections of the 

 National Museum there are specimens from Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas, 

 among the southwestern States; from Ohio, Wisconsin (Eacine), and Montana (Yellowstone 

 Eiver); and from California (San Diego). If the specimens have been correctly identified, the 

 species must extend over the greater part of the United States. 



Size: Mode op life. — In regard to size, the Bull-frog is undoubtedly the largest animal of 

 its kind inhabiting North America. Holbrook^ states that it reaches a length of twenty-one 

 inches, although the average, of course, is considerably less. It lives in quiet ponds and slug- 

 gish rivers, and is solitary in habit, collecting together only during the breeding season. Like 

 other Frogs, it is carnivorous, feeding upon insects, mollusks, and other small animals which live 

 in or near bodies of fresh water. It seizes its prey when in motion, and bites greedily at the hook. 



Breeding habits: Feog culture. — The Bull-frog breeds in spring, at which time hundreds 

 are to be seen together in small ponds. During this season the male utters the wHl-known 

 bellowing cry which may be heard at a long distance. 



The artificial culture of Frogs has been attempted iu a number of localities, with greater or 

 less success. Mr. Seth Green gives the following account of a method for propagating them, 

 which he employed with good results : 



"1. How to get the spawn. — Take a large dipper and go to the pond where the frog casts 

 its spawn. Ton will find them in a glutinous bunch. When you dip them up, be very careful 

 not to break the glutinous matter which binds them together. Put them in a pail or can, filled 

 with water, and take them to your hatching-box, which is made after the fashion of the shad- 

 hatching box. It is a box two feet long, eighteen inches wide, and a foot deep, covered on the 

 bottom with gas-tarred wire sieving, twelve wires to the inch. Anchor the box in a gentle 

 current. They will hatch in from seven to fifteen days, according to the temperature of the 

 water. 



"2. How to take care of them. — Soon after they are hatched, they should be turned loose 

 in a pond prepared with great care, as they have numerous enemies, such as fish, snakes, birds, 

 lizards, coons, and many other animals. The pond should be made where the ground is springy, 

 and have plenty of soft muck in the bottom. In this muck the frog lies during the winter. 

 The pond should have a tiglit board fence, so that no animals could get in, and should be built 

 so close to the water that no bird could stand on the ground inside the fence and pick up the 



'Philosophical Transactions, xviii, 1694, p. 125. 

 ^Holbrook: North American Herpetology, iii, 1838, p. 82. 



