Stather : Our Keptile Pets. 



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cannot live on land, and that dies in the water." A frog can live 

 longer under water than a toad, because he is better supplied with air- 

 bladders. The drowning of either a frog or toad, fastened under water, 

 would only be a question of time ; the same is applicable to the newt. 

 Whilst in the tadpole state they breathe by means of gills, in the 

 perfect state they breathe directly by means of lungs. Frogs and 

 toads cast their skin at times, but the cast-off skin of the toad is never 

 found. Mr. Wood explains this by saying that when the toad has 

 cast the skin, it rolls it up and swallows it. Clearly the toad is a firm 

 believer in the old-fashioned proverb, " Waste not, want not " — a 

 motto not always exercised by those of higher grades. These two 

 animals live on very much the same food, viz., worms, slugs, and 

 various insects : with the difference that the toad feeds chiefly by 

 night, the frog mostly by day. Their method of catching varies 

 somewhat, according to the kind of animal preyed upon. If it is a 

 worm or slug, it is pounced upon and seized with a sudden snatch ; if 

 the first effort fail, it is repeated until it succeeds, and the prize is then 

 swallowed by successive gulps. Should the prey be an insect, a 

 totally different method is adopted. The tongue of the toad is long, 

 flat, and slightly forked ; it is hinged, as it were, to the lower lip, and 

 the point lies backward toward the throat. When a fly is to be 

 captured, out flashes the whiplike tongue, well lubricated with adhesive 

 saliva, and the luckless fly simply vanishes ! — that is about the only 

 word to express the speed with which it disappears. These animals 

 will not touch any food until they see it move ; they will sometimes 

 partake of dead food if you stir it slightly. Though they have teeth, 

 they do not chew their food, but swallow it whole. The teeth are so 

 small that they are merely to hold their prey while they gulp it down. 



Toads are gifted with a certain amount of intelligence. I have 

 known a case of a toad, which was kept in a garden, answering to the 

 name of " Jack." Jack lived under a water-butt which stood on some 

 stones, and as soon as his master called " Jack, Jack," out he would 

 come to look up with an inquiring air, which had something very 

 knowing and intelligent about it. 



The newt, or eft {Lissotriton punctatus), unlike the frog or toad, does 

 not lay its eggs in ropes or clusters, but singly on the leaves of plants ; 

 and some even carry their care so far as to double the leaf over the 

 egg, and foster it for further protection. The tadpole of the newt is a 

 beautiful creature ; in shape and colour it far surpasses the other tad- 

 poles, in addition to which its breathing organs arep laced outside the 

 neck, and form a lace-work frill of exquisite beauty. Altogether, there 



