THE CROAKERS. 



29 



The next nearest relative of Rana clamMa is the 

 bullfrog (Rana cateshiana), the largest of all the 

 American species ; he frequently measures four and 

 a half inches from the nose to the end of the body. 

 He is the bass viol of the batrachian 

 orchestra, and the king of all the 

 croaking tribe of Rana, but 

 also a sort of canni- 

 bal into the bar- 

 gain, for he 

 is known to 

 feast on his 

 own tad- 

 pole prog- 

 eny. But 

 this is a bad 

 habit not wholly 

 confined to the 

 big Rana cateshiana. Any one who has fished for 

 frogs with, a bit of red worsted tied to a fishhook 

 knows how the gaping, wide-mouthed creatures will 

 snap at anything that comes along without discrim- 

 ination ; in fact, a tadpole for bait will do almost as 

 well as a bit of red worsted. Apropos of this fact. 

 Dr. Abbott's remarks about the voracity of frogs are 

 well worth repeating : 



"' While feeding an Anderson's Hyla with flies a 



The Bullfrog {Rana cateshiana). 



