22 BROOKLYN I^ 
;STITUTI' 
; MU.SKUM. 
SCIKNCI 
■ Bl'LIJCTIN 2. 3. 
fcreiices between fn 
>-s and 
toads are 
foui 
ided 
princi] 
iall>- on details of 
their internal stn 
.let n res 
which cannot 
l)e 
seen 
1)\ an external 
examination. 
Like history. 
All Lu 
int; Island ' 
batr; 
ichiai 
is are 
born in the water. 
and are hatched from egg.s 
that are 1 
aid 
b\- til 
leir fe 
male parents. A 
>()uni< batrachian is 
called a 
tadi)ole, f 
roni 
/a,/. 
toad, ; 
:uid /),'//, head, for 
it appears to consist 
of a head and tail 
and 
no 1 
)ody. 
Tadpoles live the 
lives of fishes beneath the surface of the water during the first few weeks 
or months of their lives. They then acquire lungs and legs and become 
fitted to live on land. Salamanders closel\' reseml)le frogs and toads in 
the egg and tadpole stages of their existence : Init b>- far the most of the 
tadjioles in Long Island jiools are the \dung of frogs or toads.' 
Eggs. Frogs and toads hibernate during the winter. Mo.st kinds 
of frogs burrow in the mud of ponds at the beginning of cold weather. 
Toads burrow in loo.se .soil. Almo.st their first act on emerging in the 
s]iring is to re.sort to ])ools in order to la>' their eggs. A female frog or 
toad usually la>s several hundred eggs. The eggs are mostl\ 1>rown or 
black, and are about the si/e and ,sliai)e of small jnidieads. Their 
gelatinous coatings soon absorli water and the eggs become as large as 
small peas. The resuU is that the mass of the eggs laid by a single 
animal may almost fill a pint measure. The eggs nia>- often be found 
floating in mas.ses as large as a hat. 
irni weather. Hut from the 
Most per.sons are acqnaiiUed with frogs and toads cliiefl}- from 
hearing their voices. Nearl\- all the .sounds made by animals in the earl\- 
s])ring are the voices of frogs and toads. Birds take U]) the chorus in 
earl\' sununer. ('>rassho].i>ers and crickets constitute the orchestra in the 
autunui. The silence of a winter's e\ening is in striking contrast with 
the animate sounds of the warmer months. Hut when the ice has di.sa])- 
peared from the pools, tin>- tree frogs begin the sjiring music with shrill 
])eeiis, and they are soon followed b>- the frog croakers with their dee]) 
liass notes, and the toads with their monotonous chants. 
' Salanian.k-r ta.li.dfs .HlTrr rr...n f r. .- an.l U.a.l ta.li«.k-s in the- presence (,f 
,M A /-//,// Kill maiiK-nts. The -ilk ..f larval frn-s an,! toa.ls are CMU'ealt-.l. Ed. 
VciCAI. SOfM.S. 
All 
kinds of 
ma\- occasional 1\ lie 1 
leard 
all throv 
time of a .s])ring tha\' 
>■ lUlt 
il well al. 
with their \-oices, whii 
:h ma 
i\ be calle 
o|iiiiion of the listener 
