The Washington times., 1901-07-14
FROGS FROM THE CLOUDS.
Stories of Showers of Them Not
Credited by Scientists.
Prof. Steyneger, of tie Smithsonian,
Explains the Supposed PhenOm-
enon Rain CooIs the WATER
md Drives the Frogs to Land.

| enon - Rain COoIs the Water
md Drives the Frogs to Land.
1t is well known that after rain there
| is to be seen in certain districts the
| strange spectacle of numbers of frogs or
toads covering the ground as though hey
had fallen from the clouds with the show-
ers of water. very striking but not
very unusual, instance of this phenome-
non was reported several days ago from
Ithaca, n. Y. At this point, it is af
| frmed. myriads of small frogs have
caused considerable Inconvenience to the
residents of the city, whose homes are
situated near Cayuga Lake. A train
| leaving for Auburn ran into a mass OF
| these tiny batrachians, and for a time
was unable to proceed, the track becom-
ing so slippery from those which were
killed that the wheels slipped on the
rails. 1t is further reported that the frogs
appeared on high ground in great num-
bers street cars were held up because of
the thousands which covered the tracks,
and the pests infested the gardens of
many of the residences, running growing
vegetables.
The popular explanation of this phe-
nomenon is that it is the result of a veri-
table rain Of frogs. Some, facts seem to
large rain barrel being found full of
frogs after the heavy showers which pre-
ceded the appearance of the pest. 1t is
urged, with considerable plausibility. that
the frogs. which are very young ones and
not above a half inch in length, could not
have climbed up the side of the barrel
and must therefore have fallen in from
above. But the question remains, how do
the frogs find their way and what sus-
tains them in the circumambient air pre-
vious to their descent with the showers
of rain.
This is, it must be confessed. a poser
and a Times reporter saw Prof. Leonhard
Steyneger, of the Smithsonian Institution,
on the subject
well, said he. in answer to the re-
porters question, Il never saw a rain of
frogs myself. so l cannot say whether
such a thing is possible or not. The ap-
pearance, after rain. Of numbers of
young frogs on the ground in the neigh
borhsod of water or marshy places may
be accounted for, I think, very simply.
The rain cools the water in which the
young ones are, and they seek the banks
and dry land for warmth. Then. proba-
bly, charmed with the freedom and nov
city of their situation. and with all the
they venture farther and farther until
they are run into by railway trains and
all the rest of it.
This of course, is a mere supposition
on my part. I have walked along by an
old canal or ditch in one of the suburbs
Of Washington and seen great numbers
of young frogs on the banks. Perhaps if
it had been raining their presence would
have been accounted for by that fact
Nothing is more common than TO hear
at this season of the year, but especially
in the spring, of rains of frogs, some
times developing, as in the case at Ithaca,
into a veritable pest. 1 think that II
you walk along any locality adjacent to
water after rain you VIII observe num-
bers of frogs on the ground. and their
appearance is invariably. / may say, ac-
counted for by the supposition that they
have come down with tn. rain. The frogs
are always very young ones, and the phe-
nomenon is always noted at the season
when they are breeding or rather shortly
after; that is, when they are able to
jump around and indulge IN infantile rec
reations
Il never even met a man who saw Il
rain frogs continued the professor, "and
l should have very grave doubts of the
veracity of the statement II I did. Imag-
ination is a strong factor in observation,
and optical delusions are much more COM
mon than we think for so If such a state
ment were made to me I should be more
disposed, perhaps. to attribute it to faulty
observation on the part of the narrator.
If 1 saw such a thing myself? Well, the
only way that I could account for IL
would be that a cyclonic wind had caught
up a number of frogs from the surface
of the water and whirled them along, de-
posting them on dry land. and, possibly,
in the immediate vicinity of human habi-
tations"