Hinckley.] 
106 
[November 17, 
My knowledge of the little frogs after leaving the water, is 
confined almost wholly to those kept in a fernery. Some of the 
eggs laid May 10th were placed in an aquarium. All hatched at 
the same time; but the tadpoles within doors were longer in 
developing and lacked much of the brilliancy of coloring of those 
grown in the pond. Before the tail was resorbed I found them 
climbing the sides of the aquarium. Many escaped at night. The 
rest were secured as soon as they showed a disjiosition to leave 
the water. The tail, in some instances, disappeared in about thirty- 
six hours. The green color asserted itself sooner in some sj>ecimens 
than in others ; but I have never seen a tadpole of this species 
develop into the frog that did not sooner or later become green. 
After the little frogs were in the fernery they occasionally changed 
to the shades of gray and brown, matching the earth or the bark of 
the branches to which they clung. This change of color steals 
over the frogs with varying rapidity. Sometimes the change is 
almost instantaneous. The skin also varies in its appearance from 
a smooth polished surface to a coarse granulated one. 
Four frogs of the same age, kept in a small fernery, exposed to 
the same conditions of light and heat, provided with the same 
kind of food, and clinging frequently to the same fern or branch, 
were never found of precisely the same color during the first 
three months. The smooth, shiny patch below the eye, the yellow 
coloring in the folds of the legs, and commonly the black mark- 
higs on the body and limbs, appeared after the frogs had left the 
water. When about three months old, tints of gray became the 
rule, and a change to green the exception. The black markings 
have not changed excepting to vary in distinctness. While passing 
through the stages of development from the egg to the perfect 
frog, more variety and brilliancy of coloring is shown than by any 
species of Hyla or Rana found in this locality. Twice I have 
found tadpoles of Hyla versicolor thriving in water that had 
become so impure that all tadpoles of Rana halecina, Rana pal- 
ustris, and even the water beetles, had died. 
At first the little frogs were fed on the green aphides found on 
young apple growth, but soon flies became their sole diet. They 
show wonderful agility and precision in capturing their food. 
They are sensitive to atmospheric changes. The approach of rain, 
