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I had frequently seen crocodiles upwards of eighteen feet in length, and there can be little doubt that they sometimes exceed twenty; but a very small creature of this species may carry away a man while swimming.

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a-qua'ri-um, a glass tank for fishes, glob'u-lar, spherical, globe-shaped.

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1. THE body of the frog sometimes attains a length, from the extremity of the muzzle to the end of the hind feet, of six to eight inches. The muzzle terminates in a point; the eyes are large, brilliant, and surrounded with a circle. of gold color; the mouth is large. The body, which is contracted behind, presents a tubercular and rugged back: it is of a more or less decided green color on the upper, and whitish on the under parts. These two colors, which harmonize well, are relieved by three yellow lines which extend the whole length of the back, and by scattered black marblings.

2. Frogs feed on larvæ, aquatic insects, worms, and small mollusks. They select their prey from living and moving creatures, for which they watch, and, when within proper distance, they spring on them with extraordinary rapidity. A large Indian species has been seen to prey occasionally upon young sparrows. Far from being dumb, like so many oviparous quadrupeds, frogs have the gift of voice. The

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females produce a peculiar low note, caused by the air which vibrates in the interior of two vocal pouches placed on the sides of the neck; but the cry of the male is sonorous, and heard at a great distance.

3. When autumn arrives frogs lose their voracity, and cease to eat. To protect themselves from the cold when the season has advanced, they bury themselves deeply in the mud, troops of them joining together in the same place. Thus hidden, they pass the winter in a state of torpor. This state gives way early in spring. They then begin to awake and move about; and soon after, their breeding

season commences. The eggs are globular and transparent, and in the center of each is a blackish globule. The eggs float on the surface of the water, and at a distance look like froth or air-bubbles.

4. All who have observed the small ponds and ditches in the country at this season have seen these light, glutinous formations swimming on the surface of the water. After a few days, more or less, according to the temperature, the little black spot, which is the embryo of the egg, and which has developed itself in the interior of the glairy mass that envelops it, disengages itself and shoots forth into the water. This is the tadpole in its earliest stage.

5. The body of the tadpole at birth is oval in shape, destitute of legs, and terminates in a long flat tail, which

forms a true fin. On each

side of the neck are two large

gills, in shape like a plume of feathers. These gills soon begin to wither, without aquatic respiration ceasing; for, besides these, the tadpole possesses interior gills like those of a fish. Soon after, the legs begin to show themselves, the hind legs appearing first, and these acquire a considerable length before the fore feet show themselves. These are developed under the skin, which they pierce through.

6. When the legs have appeared, the tail begins to fade, and, little by little, withers away, until in the perfect animal it entirely disappears. About the same time the lungs become developed, and assume their functions. Through these admirable modifications we see the fish little by little becoming a frog. In order to follow this strange metamorphosis, it suffices to gather some frogs' eggs, and place them with some aquatic herbs in an aquarium, or in a globe with gold and silver fish.

7. The power vested in the legs of frogs is very great, for they can take leaps on the ground fifty times longer than their own body. Like toads, they have soft, fleshy tongues, furnished with a glutinous substance, which makes their prey adhere to them; and they dart out their tongues and capture insects with most surprising velocity. Frogs breathe not only through their mouth, but through pores in the skin, which is constantly kept moist by means of a quantity of water that the skin absorbs and keeps in store for this purpose.

8. The flesh of the edible frog is very tender, white, and delicate. As an article of food it is highly esteemed, and deservedly so. Prepared in the same manner, green frogs closely resemble very young fowls in taste.

FIGUIER. Adapted.

94. THE DEMON OF THE DEEP.

an-ten'na, a movable feeler.
ceph'a-lo-pod, the octopus.
cock'le [kok'l], a bivalve shell-fish.
con-fer'væ, a kind of green water-
es-carp'ment, steep declivity. [plants.
lig'a-türe, band.

lim'pet, a rock shell-fish.
nāve, hub.

sat'u-rat-ed, soaked.
sin'is-ter, meditating evil.
ten'ta-cle, a cephalic feeler.
tes-tà'ce-a, marine shell-fish.

1. WHEN Gilliatt awoke he was hungry. The sea was growing calmer. Although pressed by hunger, he began by stripping himself, - the only means of getting warmth. His clothing was saturated by the storm, but the rain had washed out the sea-water, which rendered it possible to dry them. His overcoat, jacket, overalls, and sheepskin he spread out and fixed with large round stones here and there. Then he thought of eating.

2. He had recourse to his knife, which he was careful to sharpen, and to keep always in good condition, and he detached from the rocks a few limpets. It is well known that these are eaten raw; but after so many labors, so various and so rude, the pittance was meager. His biscuit was gone, but of water he had abundance. He took advantage of the receding tide to wander among the rocks in search of cray-fish. There was extent enough of rock to hope for a successful search.

3. He wandered, not in the gorge of the rocks, but outside, among the smaller breakers. For the search that Gilliatt was prosecuting, this part was more favorable than the interior. At low water the crabs are accustomed to crawl out into the air. They seem to like to warm themselves in the sun, where they swarm sometimes to the disgust of loiterers, who recognize in these creatures, with their awkward sidelong gait, climbing clumsily from crack to crack the lower stages of the rocks like the steps of a staircase, a sort of sea-vermin.

4. On this day, however, the cray-fish and crabs were both lacking; the tempest had driven them into their solitary retreats, and they had not yet mustered courage to venture abroad. Gilliatt held his open knife in his hand, and from time to time scraped a cockle from under the bunches of sea-weed, which he ate while still walking. As he was determining to content himself with the sea-urchins, a little clattering noise at his feet aroused his attention. A large crab, startled by his approach, had just dropped into a pool. The water was shallow, and he did not lose sight of it. He chased the crab along the base of the rock. The crab moved fast. Suddenly it was gone. buried itself in some crevice under the rock.

It had

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