22 
FROG. 
In these conservatories they remain during the win- 
ter, and never become quite torpid ; for even during 
a frost, if taken out and placed on their backs, they 
have animation enough to be sensible of the change, 
and strength enough to turn themselves upon their 
legs. In these holes they are never supplied with 
water ; nor is it necessary, as they instinctively get 
together in heaps, and thus prevent the evapora- 
tion of their humidity. Dr. Townson observes, that 
in Vienna, in 1793, there were only three great 
dealers, by whom most of those persons were supplied 
who brought them to the market ready for the cook. 
The bull frog, Rana Catesbeiana of Shaw, is cer- 
tainly the largest of the whole tribe, if we except 
the argus frog, which is allied to it both in size and 
manners. These creatures derive their name from 
their croaking, which is said to resemble the lowing 
of a bull, and in a still night may be heard to the 
distance of a mile and a half. Kalm tells us that 
as he was one day riding out, the roaring of one of 
these frogs really alarmed him, as he supposed it to 
be a bull concealed in the bushes at a little distance; 
and when he was afterwards undeceived by a party 
of Swedes to whom he communicated his fears, he 
could hardly believe that so formidable a roar could 
possibly proceed from so small an animal. 
This species is common in the interior parts of 
America, where they sit in pairs by the side of the 
small rills. According to Catesby, there is scarcely 
a spring without a pair of them close to the hole 
from which the water runs. They choose this si- 
