Musical Utterances of Toads and Frogs. 197 



tatus) having been identified in Maine, may doubtless turn up 

 here also. 



I well recollect, soon after my arrival in the country, meeting 

 a soldier of my regiment one afternoon, and talking over our 

 experiences of the New World. "This is a strange land," 

 said he, " where the frogs whistle and the crows bark ! " and 

 certainly these two familiar denizens of home remembrance 

 are here represented by species which, however little they 

 may differ from them in appearance, are widely divergent as 

 regards voice. 



The great expanse of swamps and stagnant waters presents 

 admirable retreats for various species. In the still summer 

 evenings, when the firefly is about, and the crickets, grass- 

 hoppers, and the like have just ceased their noisy utterances, 

 then comes forth from the dank places such a medley of voices, 

 in different notes, that we can hardly believe that all are pro- 

 duced by frogs. There is the loud hoarse cough of the large 

 Bull Frog (Rana pipiens), accompanying the clear pipe of the 

 Yellow-throated Green Frog {R.fontinalis), and the less musi- 

 cal croak of the handsome Leopard Frog (R. halecind), and 

 other species, to wit, the Pickerel and Wood Frogs. I have, 

 besides the above, which are common, identified the little Tree 

 Toad {Hyla versicolor), whilst the well-known common Bufo 

 Americanus abounds in all suitable localities. 



Salamanders are numerous. I have confirmed the presence 

 of the following species : 5. subviolacea (Dekay), the Blue-tailed 

 Skink (Scincus fasciatus), Dusky Triton {Triton niger), and 

 Red-backed Salamander, besides several sorts not determined 

 accurately. The following species I was unable to name: "A 

 true triton — length, five inches ; body, smooth and tapering ; 

 head, ovate, depressed, rounded in front ; eyes, prominent and 

 converging ; upper parts plumbeous in life, darker after death, 

 and brown after immersion in spirits for a day ; tail, tapering 

 and compressed ; sides of body faintly spotted with white, 

 lower parts pale ; anterior feet, four-toed, the second and 



