Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1860-06-09
THE LATE SHOWER OF ToADs AT PORT
JERVIS,


JERVIS
To the Editor Of the Nep York Times:
Your correspondent from Port Jervis, in your
issue of the Goth ult., relates, with some inter-
est an account of shower of toads which re-
Gently descended in that vicinity, and records
his previous skepticism in common with hun
dreds of thousands of others upon similar au-
thenticated statements of the same phenome-
non.
These showers are not IRE. l have myself
witnessed more than one shower of frogs and
small fish, but the instance | am about to re-
late, also witnessed by myself and my late faith
or, naturalist of high reputation at Cambridge,
England, and another one equally famed, may
not be uninteresting, connected as it is with
some highly curious physiological facts. In
August, 1916, being on geological visit with
my father to the estate of Rev. Neville Rolfe,
at Heacham, near Lynn, coast of Norfolk, Eng
land, who was naturalist and conchologist of
the highest order, we encountered, during q
thunder storm, heavy shower of rain accom-
panied by countless myriads of young frogs,
which, IN the course of ten minutes completely
covered nearly half an acre of ground. The
church root, the glass roofs of the green houses
and the gravel walks were black with them, and
they were swept up by bushels and given to the
due ks and other poultry. They were all dead,
protruding as if dying Of sufocation. Many
pints of them were preserved in spirits and sent
to Natural History Societies, and |, myself, on
my arrival here ten years since, had some which
were exhibited to many, but an accident de-
stroyed the vessel in which they were kept on
voyage to the West Indies, and they dried up
Now for some curious physiological facts on this
case, as to their origin. The frogs were dis
tinct species from the English frog none aver
aged over half an inch in Lengths most were
smaller they had one finger less on the front
limb than English frogs, which are never so
small, and which, as the larvae of frogs are de.
veloped in Spring, are at that period of the
year when these fell at least two inches over,
and until frogs are nearly an inch long, in MAY,
they have the tadpole caudal termination. These
were perfectly developed frogs. Now for their
source and origin. A specimen of them, sent
to the Royal Museum at Copenhagen revealed
the fact that they were Danish froqs, exceed
ingly abundant in that country, not known in
England, but that they, unlike other frogs, were
Matched at all seasons of the year-that the
Danish rivers and marshes swarmed with Them
and it is to be presumed that they were taken
up as fishes are sometimes in the vicinity of the
lakes, in Syria and Daimatia, land have wit
messed their fall,) by whirlwinds or waterspouts,
and so deposited on land.
But there is another still more curious fact
known to few naturalists, but which is easy of
practical proof and first introduced it to the
notice of the mysterious author of the "Ves-
tiges of Creation" 1t is this, that if the tad
pole, or that which rejoices in the more or less
euphonious name of "pollywog" in this coun-
try, and which is the larvae from the spawn of
the frog, be kept in an aquarium or in dark
place, it continues to be a tadpole and grows to
great size as long as the light is kept from it
if the light is now suffered for time to fall
upon its habitation the head gradually changes
to frogs head; if the light be again withheld,
it remains frogs head and tadpole's body and
terminus. When the light is suffered again to
penetrate, the legs and foreparts become fur
Their developed, and it can be arrested in its
change or not as before. Last, comes the eau
dial termination and its issues, perfect frog
Now, if the abstraction of light retards thus the
development of the frog, why is it not a tenable
theory that the excess of light hastens the de.
velopment, and that the spawn or germinus
sucked up by waterspout or tornado becomes
forced into the true formed frog, and so depos-
tied in the course of tornado? | leave this a
question for naturalists.
The theory or principle of ligh: developing
and changing certain organisms is well known.
The oroteus dnguileus, lizard species of
reptile found in the deep dark lakes of the
subterranean grottos of Laybach and Carniola
is well known to naturalists. | was fortunate
enough in lS47, to capture several live speci
mems in the lakes. 1t has, when existing in its
native element, the characteristics of the fish
and lizard combined is shaped like the latter
is of apae fawn color, and has protruding pills
like fish is web footed, and has broad tail
1t has no developed eyes, (they would be useless
in those dark caverns) but black specks the size
of the head of q large pin, covered with an
opaque membrane. When these animals are
brought up to the open air, and kept in damp
grass and weeds, and not in water, the color
changes to dark olive, the gills are absorbed
and become lungs, the web foot divides and be-
comes claw for climbing, and the membrane
over the eye splits open, and beautiful black
eye, like the well-known eye of the lizard, be-
comes visible; the teeth, also, instead of hard
gum, begin to be developed in those had.
These positive facts, and the shower of frogs,
which has brought up this thesis, can be au-
thentcated by reference to the transactions of
the Cambridge Natural History Society, where
the whole matter was discussed.
The peculiar vitality of toads and frogs no.
ticed after being long embedded in limestone
and clay deposits, may have some bearing on
this matter. am not prepared to say whether
the bull frog, considered such decacy among
the American Crdpeauphagi, would give tad.
pole, which would show the influence of light,
as the French and English rama escmenta and
rama testudinis but the experiment might easily
be tried in an aquarium. Respectfully, yours
ISAIAH DECK, M. D.,
No. 10 Exchange-place.