The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1867-03-08

ali tho ronrosaota,i,.| - ,t,a -,
cIoss withon, owean,;o" go go
tic n As we Ascend IN thn saaIo Of ~,
oonizntion tho class Of rrn,ilos
which ia ,ncvt IN ordor on,braoos
about as many oana,ic tvnos 40 tcr
rcstrial ones ,,root n,anv 81 thr
terrestrial mhabit In nrefarenco low
murshy reoiops i;vo nortI,. On iorH
and partly in water and Sra bnnrr
called amnbibions Tbe IoUor All
mols-rentiIa.- fsbos-oro coIlod
cold. .blooded. not that tI.ir t,mnoro'
ture il neeesaarilv mnch coId.r ,ho,,
wn,m blooded ones lint n chonr,e
with the temperature ortLe snrrounJ
ling medium They are not canobIc
/ bv their own oroaiiizationp oe ej',roin
tanning their temperatnre ot a 6xcd
standard, which il the oharocteristie
of warm blooded animals "Tbe tnr.
tie, in mic summer. when exposed 10
the sun, will have its temneraturr
raised to s.. and even more. and
when the temperature sinks. its own
itemperature that of it's blood-will
fall to 10 and even to 32 and if il sinks
below. then il dies" That gronn al
reptiles represented by THE frog.
toad. newt and salamander. Which
LAYS its eoos in tha water anil tbo
Young of which are thore hntchcd
undeTgoes nvtensi,,o. oL,nros Loc,rn
it assumes the aduIt form Agossiz
Isays "Wben Tho ogg of tho tad n,
frso ia botchaI ,ba ,,o,,rr, uj,;,., 10
horn from II dnos moi in nn,, w.v 80,
sombIo Tho Iii, I'm, :, -, n.o
call A tadpole-an animal more like
n fish fbon n froy or toa1--it hos y
comparativelv Iong a,oil-it b,e no
limbs Mt all. il has Mt first n noir or
several nnirs or yills on the two sides
of the head. and then in tho course
of time IL devclons rulimentol legs-
the gills are rcdncrd. tail is re
duced. and in the end the younO ami.
NAL assumes the form of ihe uarent.
.hayino lost ito cxtnrnol oils hoving
assumed Ie0s and tbose ornwing I'm =,
to the nroportions winch they have in
the parent. and the tail disonneorino
in the same way--uot bv droppin1
off, but by bcinp resolved The
ren,ilcs wiich undoroo these meta.
morphoses are of the lowest order,
lizards and turtles are OF higher or
ranization. There is certain rra-
dation among animals, in proportion
as hy their nature they are confined
to the water or marshes, or to the
dry land, or rise into the interior of
continents.
No large animals arc fonnd on
small islands On somc of fine small
or Pacific islands WHOM first visited
only bats and some kinds of mice
vero. foupd- and even. Australia ia in
e,a.jor 20 the continents in the scale Of
its mammalia. Itis only in the interi.
or of larre continents tlIat the HIGHEST
orders Of animals oyist and tLis ia
copallv true of bfrds I.-..a
Tho ani,ols NJ nrozil IN moi stand
os Lioh ns those of other continents
The crocodiles are small in eompari
son with those OF Africa or the G an
ges, ard are not provided with the
powerful interloeking teeth peculiar
to the latter Poisonous snakes are
more numerous than the larger and
more harmless ones, but they inhab.
it such 'bIacll reeesses," seldom FIRE.
1uented by men, that they do not of
fer any more danger TO travel than
the rattle snake with us, or other
poisonous snakes of the South, and
accidents are rare. OF the tree
toads, Agassiz says the forests are
vocal with their noise. They imi-
tate the voice OF other animals to the
extent of frequently producing a
strange delusion. Some OF them are
barking like dogs, others are crying
like children, and frequently your at
tentton and sympathy may he attract
ell by avoice which would distress
you, could you not satisfy Yourself
that it came from cluster OF frogs
and not from an infant in trouble"
There are fresh water turtles in
the Amazon, in length three or tour
feet, and they are among the most
delicious articles of food in the coun-
try, and found in such quantity ms to
form one of the principal resources
of the population. "These fresh wa.
ter turtles, when the rivers begin to
lower, pnther i'm. the main streams.
and may he seen in the eddies and
bayuus of the Amazon in thousands
and thousands, clustered together
awaiting the opportunity to go on