Marvels of the Universe 803 
in other species this office is undertaken by the male alone, who may likewise possess special appliances 
to aid him in the task. Chili, for example, is the home of a species named Darwin’s Frog, in which 
the male has the singular habit of taking charge of the eggs laid by the female and transferring them 
—in what precise manner is unknown—to a special breeding pouch in his own gullet, which com- 
municates with the mouth by means of a pair of slits in the floor of the mouth, one on each side of 
the tongue. Here the eggs remain till they are hatched into miniature frogs, which appear to skip 
the usual tadpole stage, and eventually hop out of their father’s mouth to try their own luck in the 
world. 
The so-called Midwife Toad of France and Southern Europe was for more than a century the 
only species other than the Surinam Toad known to carry about its eggs on its own body. 
Unlike the great majority of frogs and toads, which deposit their spawn in water, the female 
Midwife Toad lays a long string of from about twenty to fifty eggs on land in early spring. As 
she lays them, she is closely attended by her partner, who, when the whole string is completed, 
proceeds to attach the mass to his hind legs by thrusting his feet into the midst. When the packing 
is completed, the eggs form a grape-like mass covering the upper part of the hind legs and loins. 
In proportion to the size of the parent toads, the eggs, which are bright yellow in colour, are 
remarkably large. When first laid by the mother they are as round and regular as grains of sago, 
but by mutual pressure they soon assume an ovate form. When fully laden with his burden, with 
which, however, he gets about actively enough, the male Midwife retires to his usual abode, which 
may be a hole in the ground, or a chink between the stones in a heap or a wall, where he has to get 
through a period of about 
three weeks before the 
tadpoles make their ap- 
pearance. 
In order to prevent the 
precious eggs from drying 
up, the careful parent 
makes most of his pere- 
grinations abroad in search 
of food by night ; and if 
he finds that even this 
care does not keep them 
sufficiently moist, he re- 
freshes them by an _ oc- 
casional bath in the nearest 
pool or stream. When 
the three weeks of pro- 
bation are over, some in- 
stinct impels the burdened 
father to take to the 
water; and when once 
there, the tadpoles, which 
are by this time fully 
formed, bite their way 
through the tough enve- 
lope in which the eggs are 
Photo by] [W. S. Berridge, F.Z.S8. 
wrapped, and make their THE MIDWIFE TOAD. 
appearance in the outer There is little in the appearance of the female Toad to distinguish it from other 
members of the group. As is the case with another species (Darwin's Frog), the mother 
world. 
leaves the care of the eggs to her mate. 
58 
