The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1890-01-16

Human Being-HOw Mr. Frog
Disposes Of His Old Clothes.
1.-THE most interesting thing about
frog" says the professor Of anatomy
to Washington Star man, "is Its ex-
traordinary structural resemblance to
the human being. If you had an oppor-
tunity Of comparing the two by dissec-
ltion you would not be astonished at the
notion which many psychologists have
expressed that man and the batrachian
were actually cousins, derived from the
same original ancestry. Incidentally
you would observe that Mr.. Frog is very
high up in the scale Of development
that runs from the bivalvular oyster to
the genus homo. You would find that
the arrangement and formation Of his
bones aud muscles are pretty much the
same as in man.
"There is one physical characteristic,
however, which alone entities the frog
to an elevated status in creation; he has
a thumb. For is 1t not to tie possession
of thumb that man owes his elevation
above the brute? With no more thumb
than monkey he would never have
been able to make any thing--or, in
other words, to construct any product
representing an idea--and he would
have remained, to all intents and pur-
poses, q beast. Apropos of tho subject
we are talking about, take it that no
reasonable person devoid of prejudices
can look upon the mere skeletons of a
man and o chimpanzee, side by side,
without having forced upon him the
conviction that such likeness of struct-
ure could only be accounted for by
unity Of derivation"
(Which, then, do you claim that your
greatest grandfather was, monkey or
frog?"
"Young man, that is foolish ques-
ton, implying strange ignorance. Mr..
Darwin did not teach, as is vulgarly sup
posed, that the human kind is descend
ed from the ape; his theory, which is
still held by nearly all scientific men,
was that ape and man came from the
same primary ancestral source. How
else, pray, are you going to account for
the similarity in almost every detail Of
their make-up?"
"And the frog?"
"The frog l recognize as cousin, too.
He is very agreeable relative-espe-
cially broiled. 1t is not because we have
an amphibious greatest grandfather in
common, however, that I respect him
most, but for the reason that he has con-
,tributed so largely to scientific research.
In fact the likeness he bears to the hui
man species has been great misfortune
| ,fn i'm, IN ~ NJ
menter in physiology is continually try
ing to find out what he can do without
his brain, or his legs, or his insides. The
demonstrator of anatomy cuts him up to
show the beautiful structure Of his mus
cles, or the circulation of his blood,
while the expert in toxicology tries the
effects Of all sorts Of poisons upon him,
and when he has finally succumbed and
given up the ghost the electrician ap-
plies the galvanic battery to his stiffen-
ing limbs to make him do corpse dance.
You remember, dare say, that Galvani
owed his wonderful discovery to frog
whose skinned hind legs, prepared for
soup, lay beside an electrical machine
at which the inventor was working. BY
accident he touched the legs with the
end of wire along which powerful
current was passing, and they immedi-
ately became frantically convulsed.
Hence the development of galvanism."
''Can frog get along at all, then,
without his brain?"
Exceedingly we'll. saw frog the
other day that seemed to be in most ex-
cellent physical condition, though its
cerebral 10 bes had been in alcohol for
six months. 1t had q flrst-rate appetite,
swallowing minnows tina were given 1t
with the utmost readiness, and, al
though 1t rarely moved for the obvious
reason that it was not in a condition to
think about moving preliminarily, 1t
could not very we'll have any mental
anxieties and appeared likely to preserve
q sort of automatic existence for ON in
definite period"
"The frog is cold-blooded animal, is
he not?"
"Yes, but on the other hand he is ex-
ceedingly affectionate, and his heart is
agitated by such strong emotions that 1t
continues to beat for seven or eight min
utes after 1t has been detached from his
body"
'Is the frog very Intelligent"
ut is diflcult.to say; II you watch him
you can never tell what he is looking
at, though he always appears to be en-
gagged in the deepest thought. Ny opin-
ion is, however, that his thoughts are
chiefly confined to dress. He Is very
extravagant about his clothes; every
week or two in summer he has new
suit-kicks of his old garments like the
clown in the epantomime-and appears in
a fresh costume, with green coat and
white waistcoat, spick and span.
"Then, for economy's sake, he pro-
oeeds to eat up his rejected habiliments.
There are no secondhand clothing deal
ers among the batrachians. Mr.. Frogs
skin Is covered with waterproof var
nish, which exudes from the pores, and
the spots on his back serve to mark the
fight Of time, increasing In number
| with the years of his existence. He has