Friends in Feathers and Fur, and Other Neighbors Part 17

1. In the spring of the year the frog lays its eggs in the water.

These eggs are small and round, but soon swell out to the size of a large pea. Each egg has in it a black speck, not much larger than a pin's head.

2. This speck grows, and in the course of a few days out comes a tadpole about half an inch long. Now, a tadpole has a round head, with a flat tail on one side, but no body.

3. The tadpole can swim with its tail, like a fish. On each side of the head is a small tuft of soft pink threads. These are gills, through which it can breathe the air which is in the water.

4. Then the body grows, and in a short time two little legs come out right where the tail joins the body. In a few days more two other legs come out just back of the eyes, and then we have a tadpole with four legs.

5. But now another change takes place. Lungs for breathing air begin to grow inside, and the gills become smaller. For a time the tadpole breathes partly in the water, with his gills, and partly in the air, with his lungs.

6. Next the gills dry up, and then it comes to the top of the water to breathe; and it looks very much like a frog, except that it has a tail.

7. At last the tail shrinks away, and the tadpole has become a perfect frog. In hot weather all these changes take place in a few weeks; but when it is cold, they take a longer time.

8. The frog, when full grown, can live on the land or in the water. It can stay under water some time, but must come to the top to breathe.

LESSON XLVIII.

_MORE ABOUT FROGS._

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1. Each Mrs. Frog lays about one thousand eggs, and if they all hatched and grew, every swampy country would soon be overrun with frogs.

2. But fish, birds, and serpents eat them in such numbers that they only about hold their own year by year. Some kinds of frogs are also found to be good food for men, and are caught for that purpose.

3. Frogs are lively and noisy in the first warm days of spring and summer. The little peeping frogs keep up their shrill music all night and day, and with it we hear the deep voice of the bull-frog, like a ba.s.s-drum heard at a distance.

4. The bull-frog is the largest of the frog kind. It eats worms, insects, and snails, and sometimes it even eats its own tadpoles.

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5. In summer, we hear among the trees a shrill kind of whirring sound, which is kept up for a long time without any pause. This is the song of the tree-frog, sometimes called the tree-toad.

6. This is a very small frog. It is born in the water, like other frogs; but when it comes out in the spring, it climbs into the trees and lives there.

7. Its feet spread out into broad, flat toes, from the bottom of which comes out a sticky fluid. By means of these toes, which partly act as suckers, the frog can crawl along on the under side of branches without falling.

8. The color of the tree-frog is so much like that of the wood it clings to that it can not be seen unless we look very closely for it.

LESSON XLIX.

_THE FRIENDLY TOAD._

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1. The toad, which we find in our gardens and yards slowly crawling about, or making short hops, is a cousin of the frog, and is made very much like him.

2. The frog has a smooth skin; but the skin of the toad is thick, and is covered with warts. It has a larger mouth than the frog, and, on the whole, it can not be called handsome.

3. The toad, like the frog, is usually born in the water, and is at first a tadpole. When it loses its gills and tail, it comes out of the water and lives upon the land, until it goes into the water again in the spring to lay its eggs.

4. Sometimes the toad can not reach the water at the proper time, and then the tadpole changes to a perfect toad soon after it is hatched.

5. The toad feeds on insects, and is very useful about the garden, as it picks off the grubs and beetles that destroy the fruit and flowers.

6. It eats only living insects, and it never chases its prey. It will sit motionless until a fly or other insect comes within reach, and then it darts out its tongue so rapidly that the little victim can not escape.

7. It swallows its food whole. When it seizes a worm, it crams fold after fold into its mouth with its fore feet, and, when all is in, it gives one great gulp, and the worm disappears down the wide throat.

The toad sleeps in some hole, or out-of-the-way place, during the day; but it comes out about sunset and searches for food all night.

8. Every few months the toad gets a new coat. Its old skin gets hard and dry, and cracks open on the back, showing a new skin under it.

Then the toad pulls his head out, and pushes the old skin off his body and legs. When he has got it all off, he rolls it up into a ball and swallows it.

9. Toads live thirty or forty years, and often become quite tame. They will come at a call, and they seem to enjoy a gentle scratching. When held by the legs, they will catch the flies brought within their reach as readily as when at liberty.

LESSON L.

_THE SNAIL AND ITS HOUSE._

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1. In summer, when walking out in country places, we often find pretty little snail-sh.e.l.ls. Some of these are empty, and some have a live snail within.

2. The sh.e.l.l is the snail's house. It is a queer house, as it grows on him, as hair grows on a cat; and he carries it about on his back when he walks.

3. The snail lives upon plants. In the day he finds some safe place under a stone, or in a hole, draws himself into his house, and goes to sleep. In the night he comes out and feeds.

4. When we catch a snail, and wish to look at him, we find that he has gone into his house, where we can not see him.

5. To make him come out, put a plate in warm water until it is about as warm as the hand. Then dip the sh.e.l.l into the water, and put it on the warm, wet plate.

6. Then the snail will come out. First, he will put his head out. Then from the front part of his head he win put out four soft horns, two long ones and two short ones.

7. His eyes are in the ends of his long horns. When the horns are out, if you watch close, you will see the eyes move up to the tips.