frogs, to which they were primarily impelled by the sexual instinct."

The change in colour in the frog arises from variations in temperature, effects of light or absence of the same, and other causes, one of which is fear, which is exhibited in a great degree when the frog is under the influence or in the jaws of the common snake.

The Rana Scotica is comparatively rare, and has been confounded by authors with the Rana esculenta, or edible frog, but it is, we believe, a question whether this latter is indigenous to this country.

THE TOADS.

Of the Toads there are two British species. One, the COMMON TOAD or PADDOCK (Bufa vulgaris), is often met with in our rambles. It is an inoffensive, harmless creature, much despised and often killed from ignorant prejudice on the supposition that it is venomous. It can be easily

THE TOAD.

tamed, and is susceptible of considerable attachment to those who treat it with kindness. Pennant in his "British Zoology" (Appendix) gives a very interesting anecdote in relation to this.

In olden days the toad, or a part of the animal, was a necessary ingredient in the witches' potions, be they administered to the love-sick or for baser purposes.

Ben Jonson in his witches' charms gives the following:

"The scritch owle's eggs and the feathers black,

The bloud of the frogge and the bone in his backe,

I have been getting, and made of his skin

A purset to keep Sir Cranion in.

I went to the toad, who breeds under the wall,

I charmed him out, and he came at my call,

I scratch'd out the eyes of the owle before,

I tore the bat's wings, what would you have more?"

That eminent naturalist, the late Thomas Bell, in his work on the "British Reptiles," article "Toad," says: "Few animals have ever suffered more undeserved persecution as the victims of an absurd and ignorant prejudice than the toad. Condemned by common consent as a disgusting, odious, and venomous reptile, the proverbial emblem of all that is malicious and hateful in the human character, it is placed under universal ban, and treated as an outlaw both by man and boy throughout the country. Should I be able, by the following history of its habits and manners, to show that it is, on the contrary, highly useful, perfectly harmless, inoffensive, and even timid, and susceptible of no inconsiderable degree of discriminating attachment to those who treat it with kindness, it is hoped that some few individuals may be thus rescued from those barbarous acts of cruelty to which the species is almost everywhere subjected."

There is no doubt that the toad does produce a highly nauseous secretion from its skin which is most unpleasant to other animals, but it is not venomous in the usual acceptation of the term.

The second species is the NATTER JACK (Bufo calamita), not so common as the previous, but still found in many places; it was formerly found in considerable numbers about Blackheath and Deptford. It is not so sluggish as the common toad. The eyes are much more elevated above the surface of the head, and more prominent. It is more terrestrial in its habits, and the rudimentary sixth toe found in the common toad is absent. It is also easily distinguished by the yellowish line along the middle of the back.

THE NEWTS.

Of the Newts, we have four British species, all of which are common in our ponds and stagnant waters.

The COMMON WARTY NEWT or GREAT WATER-Newt (Triton cristatus), Fig. 1, is well distinguished by its dorsal crest, which becomes very prominent on the male in the spring. The female lays its eggs, one at a time, in the following manner :-She selects some leaf of a waterplant, sits upon its edge, and folding it by means of her hinder-feet, deposits a single egg in the duplicature of

THE NEWTS.

the folded part of the leaf, which is glued securely together, and the egg effectually protected. She then quits the leaf, and after a short time goes through the same process on another leaf, and so on, laying altogether a considerable number of eggs. The food of this newt consists of aquatic insects and small living animals, such as worms and tadpoles, and the like. The colour is a black-brown or yellow-brown on the upper-parts, with dark round spots; the under-parts bright orange-red, with round black spots; sides of the tail in the males of a shiny pearl-white. In the breeding season the male puts on the deep indented crest, which extends the whole length of the back; it is separated from the crest of the tail by

an interval, without any elevation; it disappears during the winter.

The STRAIGHT-LIPPED WATER-NEWT (Triton Bibronii), is not often found.

The COMMON SMOOTH NEWT, EFT, or EVET (Lissotriton punctatus), Fig. 2, is the most common; distinguishable by its small size and smoothness, all warts and tubercles being entirely absent. It is found in almost every ditch and pond, and is often eaten by the first-described species and by different kinds of fish. Its own food comprises aquatic insects (especially in their larva state), small aquatic worms, and water-snails. They will take flies that settle on the surface of the water, and will also eat the tadpoles.

The word eft or evet is probably derived from the Anglo-Saxon ef-an, "smooth," from the smoothness of its skin. The colour varies very much. The male is brownishgrey in the upper-parts, yellow beneath, which in the spring becomes a bright orange, marked with numbers of round dark spots. The crest in the breeding season is often tipped with bright red or violet. The female is of light yellow-brown, the under-parts quite plain.

The PALMATED SMOOTH NEWT (Lissotriton palmipes) is much larger than the previous species, and differs in the form of the upper lip, which is pendulous at the sides, and the spots which cover the body are more numerous and smaller. The colour varies considerably.

M

CHAPTER XI.

THE FISHES.

"As in successive course the seasons roll,
So circling pleasures recreate the soul.
When genial spring a living warmth bestows,
And o'er the year her verdant mantle throws,
No swelling inundation hides the grounds,
But crystal currents glide within their bounds;
The finny brood their wonted haunts forsake,
Float in the sun, and skim along the lake,
With frequent leap they range the shallow streams,
Their silver coats reflect the dazzling beams."
-GAY, Rural Sports.

BLAINE ("Encyclopædia of Rural Sports;" article, "Fishing") says: "Man we believe to have been first frugivorous, and then carnivorous, and next piscivorous, which left him what he now is omnivorous. The methods he first employed to abstract the finny tribes from the waters around him were, without doubt, rude, and consequently only partially successful; but, as these improved by practice, fishing at length became a most important, and finally a most interesting, pursuit. As an amusement, it calls forth considerable powers of invention and much dexterity of operation. As an economic art it has become most important, by giving rise to vast national fisheries, which have proved objects of great interest in the policy of every civilised country bounded by the sea. To improve and extend these has been the aim of the wisest statesmen; to defend them has nerved the arm of the bravest warriors; and to acquire a general and particular knowledge of the creatures which they are meant to capture has been the study of the most enlightened philosophers."