158 THE OPEN BOOK OF NATURE 
shading into a greenish-yellow on the sides, striped 
transversely with broad dark bands. He has a 
prickly fin on his back, and anglers have to be care- 
ful how they handle him, or they may get a sharp 
prick. 7 
There are Tadpoles here—hundreds, thousands of 
them. You know that Tadpoles do not always 
remain Tadpoles ; they are really the larval stages 
of some of our Amphibians. Some Tadpoles de- 
velop into Frogs, but it is a mistake to think that 
Frogs are the only animals that were once Tadpoles. 
There are Tadpoles that become Toads, and others 
turn into Newts. It is difficult to distinguish the 
different kinds of Tadpoles in their earlier stages ; 
that of the Toad is darker than that of the Frog, 
while the Newt Tadpole does not lose its tail. 
My particular object in visiting the pond to-day 
is to get my little glass tubes filled with some 
material for examination under the microscope when 
we get home. See that red patch in the water just 
in front of us. That is due to a host of Water Fleas. 
Ill tie a tube on to the end of this stick, and secure 
a supply of the lively gentry. The red patch has 
disappeared ; that plunge of my tube gave the 
Fleas a fright, and they have scattered. But I’ve 
got a few of them all right. Notice their jerky 
motion in the tube. They will give us some enter- 
tainment at home this evening. 
Now I’m going to secure a little Duckweed from 
the surface of the water, and I shall fill a tube 
with some of that green threadlike stuff. I must 
also get some of this discoloured mud in another 
tube, and I will fill two or three more with water, 
