The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-04-25

| luIOEunuJlOn mas DCon Dunllbneu nDOut THIS Tiny
fellow; Many parsons believe the crv TO be
made By the, yonng of other .rogs. Aa q mat.
ter of fact, the peeperi {. a distinct variety, and
a worry curious little fellow ut that. He Is not
moro than fye.eighths of an inch long. The
psepers hibernate under sod, and in such
when they come out in the spring are OF q gray.
ish yellow color, or a reddish brown: During
the summer thoy arc nearly white, but At al
fined * mark in brow nish bands. =.
ut 10 one Of the funniest things in tho world
He has a vocal sack In front which he distonds
With air until he the pictures OF
a ShS frog SS n tsSt T S1T 10 ne make * g II, as .pe sn ok So H pst,
this sack suddenly c%ollnpse. Little rs he Is, his
cry may DO heard n lopR way of. Nearly every
cry Of the pee peeps sHs ls snsi n M ShS1rihi S and d@rins
part of Autil. when they repair to shallow
/ pose that they. have seen this frog. but few
recognize II when shown. The pecpers. may
seem to DO q ones feet. but only q KNOWLEDGE OF
them at all during tho breeding season. A.
this time of the voar the pools in woods and
become silent as a person approaches, and dive
so quickly out OF sight that thoy are very
a mny Ss found to Sse eNerywh Dqsiq n the The s sS%@s at f fcr,
Lee and In Bronx Park, generally ~c'inRipg. to
under-shrubs and the smaller herbs. They
toes IKE the tree frog. Late in tho fail, 10
fore Inflammation. they may DO found thickly
SfonT sSo banks Tno os streams tire siuG ana T their s Gro Is
then often as frequent and as sharp as during
the S TtSs Ing r nssT.r soma tn ror,a .rc,.,,o,
toads ia heard from the. tops OF trees around
orchards; Soon. tho tree loads repair to the
neiSheorhood nf water to breed. They are
common from British America to Florida and
''TheIr cry" Mr.. Sherwood said. "is n loud.
coarse irill,. and is Thought bv many to be n
during damp weather. but often may be heard
for hours at a time when no rain has fallen for
a hot dar in JniS. when others were heard at
the tops OF tall trees near by. It Is said that
tive SO as to know when to 20 to pici.ics. but
40 FAR as generally Observed. On May E 30 iass
willows at tho pond at, Nordhof. where they
kept up an 'ncessant cla,nor,, week later
time Of their going to tho water to breed.
They possess in a remarkable degree the power
to color change. ranging from brown or ashy-
They hibernate in hollows Of trees and stumrs
and such places. They are from rs to 2 inches
skins. TheT become ADULT when worry small.
From thar time they become terrestrial in
Another terrestrial frog II the leopard frog.
"Msny, OF the counry people 10 New ENGLAND
call this frog poison toad. Mr.. Sherwood said.
and dark spots which to them We ould suggest
those OF some serpents. This is really our
TlO9I DtHuIlIul ITDR, varying from n DTlRnI
bronze along the lighter line, when found near
water. to a green when captured in meadows.
orbit, and several ornate spots ranging from
black to dark olive in two rows nloL q the back.
One each side Of the dorsal region is an Gle
waited fold OF bright yellow. and n very bright
lronz. limo runs from, each eve to the nose.
He grows to be from 81 to ! inches in length.
Those frogs are often found in hay fields In
the summer
The P,icksr.l frog: a rare one herephcuts:
fsy1r NhtCk fp1Aa n tha hark nnn four RI NJ ~
spots. Except for the persistent differences
OF color MANY naturalists say ;hey would be-
lieve the two TO be NJ the same species. The
wood frog Is another OF tho land species.
This Troy Is common N our woods during
mems are Of a liish, color. somewhat resemblinr
fallen leaves. All have q band of olack or
reddish brown along tho side OF tho head.
llne'at each side Of their backs. At this period
resembling at times the barking or yappinG of
. small.doG when they ere Close &C hand. Alta
Soeassf 9 fer the ! nnES @ke OF am sne app So%9,hSa
trolley car. Their tadpoles are very dark
above, md peculiarly bronzed underneath. I
They remain until autumn when they hiber-
nate In mellow soil alb ,t two feet from the sur
body I. ia. and broai. ANA their limbs long
and slender"
TIT !Ass ssl'' @ei1 ( sss s'i tass Of 'F ssId Mr.. sher.
wood. "arc not seen ms often as the spring frog.
as they prefer large bodies Of water WHERE they
tion told me OF one captive in his laboratory
measuring 10 inches from the tip OF snout to
ia the United IL hi States ies; Na. tnS Muse Museum 1ne wonid
reach abont II inches thus extended. and this
may be taken as about tho maximum growth"
Everybody knows the green frog. He Is the
fello n who sits alonx the edges OF brooks. ponds
and streams. and gives a squeak when alarmed
splash. IA color he is not unlike the bullfroz.
but both In the tadpoie state n I'd In the adult
skin. in the green frog. which extend along
each side OF the back from the eyes to the end
OF the body. These long folds arc absent in the
Everybody also knows tho hoptoad.
There are four well.denned sub;species Of
is confined 70 northeastern Massachusetts, one
is the Rocky M4unty species, one l. the South;
fro n British America to Louisl ana. and frHm :he
or q darker brown above. with pairs of deeper
light vertebral line. Ono or two yellowish
etreaks are on its sldes. Below II is a dirty
female Is larger than the male. aid moi varle-
gated In color. Toads can always be distin-
guished from frogs because frogs have teeth
Probably the most, curious of all our frogs
are the hermit. or spade. foot frogs. These live
in burrows in the ground. and although there
are many OF them. the person who finds one Is
lucky. unless 1t happens that he is around dur.
Ing the tnireauent times when they resort to
They sit at tho mouths Of their burrows
waiting for prey, with only their faces sho wing.
and 1t Is startling to come face TO face with
one. Their eyes are brassy in color and very
bright. The pupils are vertical. Ike cats eyes.
cross in their eyes. Attached to the inner too
of each hind foot Is O hard. bonrlike process
like u spade. which they use In making their
burrows. Tney app-ar In great umbers at GER
tain pools. at intervals OF four or five years and
make IN awful clamor. Their cry. is not
unlike the saueakinR of an unRreased wagon
wheel. They remain a few daye and then dis
appear. They are about. the sizo OF the hop
toad and have q coarse, warty skin.
"The frog of which only three specimens are
known 10 called Anderson's frog. 1t is n beau
tirul green tree frog about the size of the Euro
pean tree frog. Two OF the three specimens
wore, caught. in New Jersey, and ono In South
Carolina. II any ono should find a green tree
frog hereabouts he may b. sure It is a prize un-
less IL turns out TO DO n German tree frog
that has got away from some one"
Mr.. Sher wood declares that the stories about
frogs or tOads li-ipg for years or centuries en-
tirely inclosed In craving trees or In solid rock
are fables. They will live a long time without
nutrition. he says. hut they must be surround
Cd by conditions otherwise favorable or they
soon die. Ono curious thing which he tells
about them IL that the easiest way to sutfocats
,hem 10 IN hold their mouths open. They have
no ribs or diaphragm with which TO draw air
into or oXDAl IL from the lungs and Ri only