364 
ORDERS OF AMPHIBIANS— FROGS AND TOADS 
position and embedded there by the male frogs. 
Other species attach their eggs to leaves that 
are afterward rolled together at the edges. Oth- 
ers deposit their eggs at the bases of large leaves 
where water collects, and some are credited with 
placing them where they will fall into pools, to 
be hatched there. A Brazilian species called 
the “Smith ” 1 constructs, at the edge of a pool, 
a really wonderful circular wall or fortress, of 
mud, in which its eggs are deposited. 
The Northern Tree-Frog- is our best and 
most common representative of this large Fam- 
ily. It is two inches in length, and in cloudy 
weather, especially when storms are gathering, 
its cheerful, bird-like call is universally regarded 
as a harbinger of rain. It is not a high climber, 
seldom ascending more than twenty feet from 
the ground. Its colors match tree-bark so closely 
it requires very sharp eyes to find it, and when 
seen it usually is believed to be a knot. 
In croaking, its vocal sac swells to enormous 
proportions. Mr. W. Lyman Underwood has 
been successful in photographing this animal at 
the instant of utterance, and his very interesting 
picture is reproduced herewith. 
THE TOAD FAMILY. 
Bufonidae. 
North American toads are distinguished from 
frogs by their rough, wart-covered backs, their 
dull colors, large and puffy bodies, smaller hind 
feet, shorter hind legs, lack of agility, and their 
land-going habits. The hopping amphibians 
which every summer shower brings out on side- 
walks and country paths, usually are toads. Al- 
together, there are about eighty-five species, 
mostly tropical. The majority live upon land, 
a few burrow into the earth, and a few live in 
the water. There are many species so frog- 
like that it is difficult to note the characters 
(chiefly of internal anatomy) which distinguish 
them. 
The Common Toad 3 may stand as the rep- 
resentative of the Toad Family of North Amer- 
ica. The long-legged, lightly built frog leaps 
gracefully and far; but the plethoric Toad is 
content to wriggle or hop briefly through life. 
Its existence depends largely upon the fact that 
1 Hy'la ja'ber. 2 Hi/'la ver' si-co-lor . 
3 Bu'fo len-tig-i-no' sus . 
as yet man finds no value in it, and does not re- 
gard it as worth killing. When Toads become 
salable at five cents each, their extermination will 
follow soon. 
The Toad deposits its eggs in water, in long 
strings, and after the transformation they grow 
so slowly that even in August the toadlets are so 
minute that about three could sit upon a copper 
cent. They seem more like insects than am- 
phibians with bony skeletons. In winter, these 
creatures hide away in the deepest crevices they 
can find, or the cavities of hollow trees, or holes 
in the earth, and lie dormant until spring recalls 
them to life. 
THE BURROWING TOADS. 
Pelobatidae. 
The Spade-Foot Toad 4 of the eastern and 
southern United States represents this large 
Family, of which two species only are found in 
the United States, and eighteen elsewhere. In 
the North, it is rarely seen, and little known. 
Personally I know nothing of it in life. Hol- 
brook states that it is the commonest toad in the 
South; that it digs for its burrow a small hole 
about six inches deep, in which it lies in wait for 
every insect that may be tempted to enter. It 
seldom leaves its hole except in the evening, or 
after long-continued rains. This animal is two 
inches long, and its color is brown above, with 
dark patches. 
THE TONGUELESS FROGS. 
Excepting the members of two small Families, 
all frogs and toads have tongues. Of the Tongue- 
less Frogs, one species — which is universally 
called a “Toad” — is of special interest in illus- 
trating a very curious feature of frog life. 
The Surinam Toad , 5 of Dutch Guiana, is cele- 
brated among naturalists all over the world 
because of the remarkable manner in which its 
eggs are cared for and hatched. Just previous 
to the egg-laying period, the skin of the back of 
the female is specially prepared by Nature for a 
remarkable proceeding. It becomes very thick, 
spongy and soft. The eggs are taken by the male 
Toad, and one by one are embedded in the skin on 
the back of the female, so effectually that the skin 
closes over them, and each egg becomes partially 
4 Sca-phi-o'pus hol'brook-i. 5 Pi' pa americana. 
