water, at the bottom of which it makes a hole or fissure for its retreat, and to which it has recourse when alarmed. According to Catesby, its croaking sounds like the bellowing of a bull, and is louder when uttered below the surface. During the summer, and on dry evenings, it makes a terrible noise. It is voracious and predatory, devouring insects, fish, and even snakes.

M. Bibron has found, in the stomach of five or six specimens, dissected by himself, insects of different orders, fresh-water shells, the remains of fishes, part of the skeleton of a siren, and the bones of birds. We know, in fact, that this Frog will swallow young ducks; and Dr. Harlan mentions having killed one in the act of swallowing a snake. It is said that the Bull Frog lives in pairs, and more than one or two are seldom found in a single pond or marsh.

Catesby's statement of the bull-like voice of this Frog is, probably, overcharged. Audubon simply says, its voice is louder than that of any other species, and may be distinctly heard at the distance of forty or fifty yards. He adds, "It is particularly fond of such small pure streams of water as are thickly shaded by overhanging bushes. It sits for hours, during the middle of the day, basking in the sun, near the margin of the water, to which it betakes itself by a great leap, at the least appearance of danger, diving at once to the bottom, or swimming to the opposite side. In the southern states, it is heard at all seasons, but principally during the spring and summer months. Its flesh is tender, white, and affords excellent eating. The hind legs, however, are the only parts used as food. They make excellent bait for the larger cat-fish. Some Bull Frogs weigh as much as half a pound. I have generally used the gun for procuring them, shooting with very small shot."

The West Indies and South America present us with a huge Frog, (Rana ocellata, Linn.; Cystignathus ocellatus, Wagler,) which closely resembles the former

in manners and habits; it is, also, commonly called Bull Frog (a general name of species of large size and sonorous voice) by the English; the French improperly name it Crapaud. It inhabits shady swamps, and humid places; and does not quit its retreat till night. It leaps with amazing strength, and can clear a wall of five feet in height. During the dry season it is very torpid, and keeps close in its hiding place; but when the rains set in it resumes its activity. In the Antilles, these Frogs are reared in a state of domestication for the use of the table, and are said to become familiar. It is the Rana gigas and R. pachypus of Spix.

The WATER FROG, or SHAD FROG, (Rana halecina, Kalm,) is found in the United States. It is extremely alert, and when pursued, will make leaps of eight to ten feet in length; it inhabits humid places, and borders of fresh-water pools.

Many other Frogs are found in America; as the R. clamitans, R. typhonia, R. labyrinthica, etc. India and Africa have also their respective species; but in Africa, the number of species is very limited, amounting only to eight; a fact to be explained by the physical characters of the country.

GENUS CERATOPHRYS.

Separated into a distinct genus, is a small group of American Frogs, with a large head, with granular or tuberculous skin, and with the edge of the upper eyelid prolonged into a point, resembling a horn. The genus is termed Ceratophrys. One of the species, (C. dorsata,) found in Cayenne and Brazil, has a buckler on the back, formed by the junction of several bony plates, which are developed in the substance of the skin; these plates are independent of the rest of the skeleton.

The BUCKLERED Horned Frog (C. dorsata) inhabits deep and humid forests, or marshes, embosomed in trees;

but it is sometimes found in cultivated places. It leaps vigorously; and utters, towards evening, a monotonous croaking. Length of head and body about eight inches.

BOIE'S HORNED FROG, (C. Boiëi,) which is a native of Cayenne and Brazil, is not larger than our Common Frog.

GENUS PSEUDIS.

The genus Pseudis contains the JACKIE, (the Paradoxical Frog of Shaw, or the Frog-fish of Edwards; Pseudis meriana, Bibr.; Rana paradoxa, Linn.) It is a native of Guiana. Of all the Frogs, the Tadpole of this attains the largest size; nevertheless, the matured Frog is very small. To the body of the Tadpole is attached a large and broad tail, and the whole contour of the creature is very fish-like. Hence arose the popular belief, promulgated by the first observers of this species, and among them Madame Mérian, that the Frog in question became, in due time, transformed into a 'fish.' The fact is, that this 'fish' is a Tadpole, which is about to be transformed into a Frog; and the loss of an enormous tail, and of the envelopes of the body, renders the adult Frog a much less animal than it was while in its imperfect condition. The male has a large vocal sac under the throat. Its manners are those of the Frogs in general.

TREE FROGS.

Of all Rep

The Tree Frogs now claim our notice. tiles, we should least expect to find Frogs of arboreous habits, and capable of leaping like birds among the branches. We find, however, a numerous group (Hyla) endowed with a structure which fits them for their

leafy abode. The Tree Frogs are beautiful creatures, both in form and colouring; and their habits give them additional interest. They perch upon the leaves; they leap from leaf to leaf, from branch to branch, and

imitate the actions of a bird. There they pursue their insect prey with astonishing agility, and enjoy the cheering warmth of summer. The mode in which they are qualified for their arboreal habits yet remains to be explained. The monkey, as we know, grasps with its paws the perch on which it rests; the bird with its claws; the snake twines itself around the branch; the iguana uses its long toes and hooked nails; the chameleon holds the bough tight between its vice-like toes; but the foot of the Tree Frog acts differently from the foot of these animals: it is not a grasping organ, nor is it furnished with claws for clinging; but it is provided with suckers, analogous to those we have noticed in the foot of the gecko; and, in this particular, it is dissimilar from that of the ordinary species. On the under surface of each finger, (both of the fore and hind paws,) at the tip, which is enlarged and rounded, is placed a sucker, consisting of a little cushion, moist with a thick glutinous fluid, and applying itself so closely to the surface it touches as to support the creature's weight. This mechanism, is, however, under the animal's control, as it can disengage or fix its fingers at will. In the Common Frog, and its immediate allies, nothing like this is to be seen. The Tree Frogs, Hyla, differ besides, as we may here notice, from the genus Rana, in the greater length of the hind legs, and in the circumstance of the males possessing a membranous sac beneath the throat, which is distended while they are uttering their hoarse and oft-repeated croaking.

GENUS HYLA.

Of this genus, which is spread over the warmer portion of the old and new world, one species is a native of Europe. It is the COMMON TREE FROG, (Hyla arborea,) one of the most beautiful and interesting of the group. In Sardinia it is very common, and it is not unfrequent in other portions of the south and south

eastern districts; it is also found in northern Africa. The vigour and agility which distinguish the Common Frog, are qualities still more remarkable in this curious little creature, which is as far inferior in size to its terrestrial relative, as it excels it in the clearness and beauty of its colouring. The upper surface of the body is of a fine green; the under surface white; a yellow stripe bordered with pale violet stretches along the sides of the head and body, and down the hind legs to the feet, while a similar stripe branches off, and extends down the arms to the fore feet. The head is short, but large; the muzzle is rounded; the eyes are bold and prominent; the body is short, and of a triangular figure; the toes of the paws, or anterior feet, are four in number, short, and stout; those of the hind feet are five, and are long and slender; the interdigital webs are only partially developed; the hinder limbs are long. The alertness and agility which the Tree Frog displays, are truly astonishing. Catesby affirms, that it has been known to clear an interval of twelve feet; but this is, perhaps, only done when the animal takes a descending leap from one branch to another obliquely below it; still, with every allowance, the leaps which this animal takes are surprising, not only from their extent, but from their address and precision. It is in the midst of the woods, among the foliage and branches of the trees, that the Tree Frog passes the greater portion of the summer; so adhesive are the gelatinous cushions of its toes, that, however smooth and polished the surfaces may be on which it rests, they affix themselves intimately to them; nay, it matters not whether the creature adhere to the under or upper surface of a leaf; in either place it is alike secure. All the summer long, in the warm and sunny regions of the south, may this little animal be watched among the leafy woods, engaged in the pursuit of various insects, darting after them as they pass within the distance of its spring; it seizes them with its