RECREATIVE NATURAL HISTORY. to complain), the complainant in a suit in opposition to the defendant. Plaintiff and plaintive are the same words differently employed. "We were here entertained with an echo repeating a whole verse in a softer and more plaintive tone, indeed, but with surprising precision and distinctness."-Eustace, "Italy.” Is. For remarks on this suffix and its meaning, see Or. RECREATIVE NATURAL HISTORY. 111 The skin of the frog is, in places, so transparent, that the blood may be seen circulating in the vessels beneath, by the aid of a powerful microscope. The foot shows this beautiful process in the most impressive degree. Catch a full-grown frog, place him under a glass vessel into which air can freely enter, and watch him. How he puffs ! What causes that gasping, gulping motion in his throat? He is swallowing air, and forcing it into the lungs. The task is evidently a laborious one; see how tightly he shuts the mouth at intervals, lest the air should escape. Why must the creature use such violent efforts to keep its lungs inflated, when we breathe almost unconsciously? Our ribs keep the chest expanded without exertion; but the frog has no ribs, and a succession of "gulps". is necessary to draw sufficient air into the lungs. No doubt the absence of ribs is good for the frog, but the work of filling "the chest" is much harder in conse"WHAT are the frogs about this morning, mother ?" said a quence. When a man is engaged in strong exercise, and requires keen little country boy to a stout dame, who was carrying on an increased supply of air, the mouth is opened to allow of more her head a basket of live poultry to the neighbouring market free breathing; but if we keep the frog's mouth open for a short town. "Oh, bless'ee, child," replied the matter-of-fact woman, time, the animal dies from suffocation. The frog can, how"how should I know what the frogs be a-doing? Thee'd better ever, absorb air through his skin, having in this respect some be a-larning yer Catechism for schoolmaster, than go a wool- advantage over us. Indeed, the covering me abrane of this gathering about them frogs." The boy felt he should get no animal may be called an absorbing machine, as by it the reptile help from "mother," though he "did mightily wish to know" can imbibe, in a short time, water equal in weight to that of the what made the frogs croak so much in the early twilight of that whole body. Suppose a man weighing one hundred pounds spring morning. were capable of absorbing through his skin, in one hour and a Now, reader, can you tell why the frogs were thus croaking half, a hundred-weight of water, this would only be on a par with from every shallow pool and moat? Draw near to the places the imbibing power of the frog. Thus it happens that the whence the sounds proceed. What multitudes of frogs are just animal has generally a supply of water at command, and when showing their heads above the water; how earnestly they give suddenly startled from a soft resting-place, indignantly ejects a out that croak, croak, croak; and their bright eyes show a quantity of pure water at the intruder. At one time this singular excitement for such cold creatures! See what a gluey-emitted fluid was supposed to be poisonous; but if any reader like substance, speckled with numerous black spots, floats on is enthusiastic enough to taste the liquid, he will ascertain its the water. Ah! that explains the agitation in the frog kingdom nature. There will not be much to boast of in this feat, the this morning. The race of these creatures is not to perish, like experiment having been often made. the dodo or the old English rat; provision is now being made for the next generation of these unlovely but interesting reptiles. The black specks in that jelly-looking substance are the eggs, which have just been deposited, and the parents are singing a merry ditty on the happy occasion. By each one of those female frogs above 1,200 eggs will be placed in the water, where the sun will gradually develop the hidden life in each dark speck. Has the reader ever traced the growth of a frog from the egg? The process is worthy of observation. Let us collect some of that substance in which the eggs are embedded, and place it in a vessel, with some of the water and weeds from the pool. We may now be able to watch all the changes. What is the first transformation? The eggs become marked with little furrows, some vital power being clearly at work within. Next we see, in place of the egg, a tiny lump of jelly-like life, which clings to one of the water weeds. How does it hold on? By a small sucker, which it clearly knows how to use. Is this, then, the first form of the frog baby? The reader may call it so, if he please, but it is not a frog at all yet. Mark the third change; our bit of jelly has acquired gills and a tail, and see how swiftly it moves in the water. It is now really a fish, though called a tadpole. But what is going to happen? The animal is changing again; a pair of hind legs are forming. This is the fourth state. What next? A pair of front limbs are developed, and it is now evident that the creature does not mean to remain a fish; it has reached the fifth transformation. But what has become of the long tail? Has a part dropped off? Certainly not; it has been absorbed into the animal's system, and will soon entirely disappear. We have here reached the sixth stage in a frog's life. The mouth now gradually widens, assuming the form which belongs to the fully-developed reptile. Are the transformations complete now? No; the most remarkable change is the last. Hitherto the creature has breathed by gills-a beautiful living machine for obtaining oxygen from water; but now a means must be provided for breathing air. Lungs, therefore, are gradually formed, and the whole series of wonderful transmutations is complete. Thus our frog has passed through eight changes, each bringing him one step nearer to the final shape and condition. All these mysterious processes can be noted by many readers for themselves, and some will, doubt less, take opportunities for tracing the frog from its cradle to "full age." In warm and moist weather the newly-perfected frogs appear in such multitudes that the lanes swarm with the little creatures, and it is difficult to walk without stepping on them. Indeed the rustics of some districts believe in "frog showers," thus accounting for the sudden and numerous swarms of hopping reptiles. Can a frog bite? The reader can put his finger for a short time into the reptile's mouth, and thus get a reply for himself. We say for a short time, presuming that the experimenter does not wish to suffocate his frog, which would be the result of long keeping its mouth from closing. Well, our naturalist has made the trial, and finds that nothing like a bite can be given. There are, indeed, about eighty teeth in the mouth, but they are all in an undeveloped state. The frog can "bolt," but not masticate its food, and why teeth are given at all is a mystery. The use to which a frog or toad can put its tongue is best seen when the creature is at dinner, feasting on insects and ants. The tongue then acts as a javelin, a trap, and a hand. How still the reptile stands, as he feeds; how rapidly that wonderfully elastic tongue darts out upon the unsuspecting ants; how sure is the aim; how firmly the prey is held by the trap-like point; and how instantaneously the living food is hurried to the captor's mouth! When the meal is over the tongue is doubled up, the tip being then at the back of the mouth. The frog may well dispense with teeth, having such a compensating apparatus. The heart of a frog has some resemblance to that of a fish, having, strictly speaking, but two divisions instead of the four found in the hearts of the larger animals. This reptile is rather a phlegmatic little fellow, the circulation of the blood being very slow, though quick enough for all his wants. We have referred to the absence of ribs in the frog, but the creature has a well-set, though short spine, and its muscular strength is enormous. Measure the length of a frog's leap, when the jump is done in good style. It will often be found that this dull-looking creature is able to leap about fifty times its length at one bound. If a man had muscular power equal to that of a frog he could clear 300 feet at a jump, and would be able to leap over a wall 100 feet high. What lover of gymnasties will not henceforth look upon a frog with deep respect! These reptiles and their cousins, the toads, can endure surprisingly long fasts, for months sometimes, especially if allowed the privilege of living in a damp place. They also reach a comfortable old age, living to about fifty years, when permitted to pass life in a quiet and do-nothing style. But some readers may here remind us that frogs and toads have been said to live for hundreds of years, in the hearts of trees or rocks, without food or air. If this were so, we should say these were very lucky frogs indeed, and we should like to possess one of the breed. We may, indeed, offer a silver medal to any one producing a frog which has lived even ten years without food or air, without fear of being out of pocket by the proposal. Many of our readers are, of course, aware of the experiments made to test the truth of such strange reports, but to others they may be unknown, and we will therefore describe some of them. Toads were selected for the experiments, but the results would, doubtless, be true for frogs. A French naturalist enclosed three toads in close boxes for eighteen months; at the end of the time one was dead, and the remaining two in a dying state. Dr. Macartney buried a toad in a vessel, covered with a slate only, a foot deep in the ground. At the end of a fortnight the creature seemed "all right," and as plump as before. He then enclosed the same toad in an air-tight vessel, and buried it; in a week the animal was dead, and even much decayed. But the most decisive experiment was carried out by Dr. Buckland. He placed twelve toads separately, in twelve holes cut in blocks of soft limestone, and also a like number of toads in twelve blocks of hard, flinty sandstone. Each of the twenty-four cells was covered with a plate of glass, over which a slate was placed, and each cover firmly cemented to its own stone. The imprisoned toads, thus secured, were buried three feet deep on the 26th of November, 1825. At the same time four toads were deposited in holes cut in the heart of an appletree, the opening being securely plugged up. Four others were also placed in a plaster of Paris bowl, and completely covered with a luting. The thirtytwo reptiles were examined on the 10th of December, 1826. Mark the result. On that day every toad in the hard stones, all in the tree, two in the plaster of Paris, and all the small ones in the soft limestone, were dead. The remaining two in the plaster were dying; but several in the pervious stones were in tolerable health, and of these two were actually fatter than when placed in the holes. It is thought that some water had filtered through the more porous stone, and insects had certainly penetrated into one cell. The surviving toads were placed in their respective holes for another year, and at the end of that period all were dead. Thus, not one toad out of thirty-two could live even for two years, when deprived of air and food. Yet there are thousands of people who still firmly believe that toads and frogs can exist for ages without nourishment in the heart of a rock. No doubt these reptiles are often found strangely enclosed in hollows of trees and stones; but if their hiding-places were closely examined, it would often be found that some small opening existed, through which an egg might have been carried by water. The animal, when hatched in its hidden rock-pool would be unable to escape, and an aperture, however minute, would admit drops of water and even small insects, on which a frog might live comfortably for many years. We need not inform the reader that one species of frog is eaten in many countries, and is said to be as delicious as a crab. They are sold in the markets, being first skinned alive, in which state the reptiles crawl about as if nothing extraordinary had happened. This species, called the edible frog, is found in the fenny parts of Cambridgeshire, where its peculiar croak has gained for it the poetic or ironical name of the "Cambridgeshire Nightingale " Has the fi question legs. We hardly know whether to pity the baby or the reptile most. In some parts of Great Britain women believe that stomach affections, and even consumption, may be cured by swallowing a frog alive! To judge by one case, the revolting remedy was at least harmless; one of these frog swallowers, a Mrs. Mary Inglis, being alive in 1857, aged eighty years. Some Wiltshire farmers have a notion that live frogs are an excellent medicine for the "cud" disease in the cow, and administer the dose without the slightest regard to the frog's feelings or the cow's tastes. Among the various species of frogs that exist, the tree-frog is one of the most peculiar. It is found in Europe as well as diffe rent parts of America and Asia. Speaking of the tree-frog, Sir Emerson Tennent says: "In the shrubberies around my house at Colombo (Ceylon), these graceful little frogs were to be found in great numbers. They possess in a high degree the power of changing their colour, and one which had seated himself on the gilt pillar of a dinner lamp, was scarcely to be distinguished from the ormolu to which it clung. They are enabled to ascend glass by means of the suckers at the extremity of their toes." Literature has not scorned to notice the frog. Homer, an ancient Greek poet, has reprecsented this sedate reptile as a warrior of mettle, in the comic poem, "The Battle of the Frogs and the Mice." The reader who wishes to see how the two singular armies behaved will, of course, study the poem for himself. The great comic poet of ancient Athens, Aristophanes, named one of his dramas "The Frogs," and all who wish to hear how poetically these crea tures can chant, and what a first-rate chorus they make, will find their curiosity gratified in that play. The ballad-makers of Queen Elizabeth's time must have seen something humorous in this animal, as they have celebrated his courtship in the once-popular song "The frog would a-wooing ride, With his buckler by his side." The reader will not fail to observe the high respect paid to the creature in these verses: he is provided with a horse and a shield, being, in fact, treated as of knightly rank. The modern version of the old ballad is, we regret, less dignified, though more domestic"Froggie would a-wooing go, THE FROG. employed as a doctor? To this strange Ves. In Lincolnshire and the surperhaps still is, the custom to use sore mouth, called in those parts r actually thrust the living animal g the struggling frog by its hind Whether his mother would let him or no." The heralds, too, have complimented the frog by having some times placed his figure as a symbol on knightly tombs. It is supposed by some that three frogs constitute the proper national armorial bearings of France, instead of the three fleur-de-lys That this is not at all improbable, any one may see, who will take the trouble to compare an heraldic fleur-de-lys with the outline of a frog laid on its back and having its legs extended. We must not entirely pass over the connection of the frog with science. Galvanic electricity is now a mighty agent, stoop ing to cure "the rheumatics," or whispering a telegram from India. What can that have to do with a frog? Many readers will surely remember how galvanism was discovered by the con vulsive movements of a skinned frog, which Madame Galvani had prepared for her learned husband's dinner. The reptile, having been placed near an electrified substance, displayed that strange muscular excitement which induced Dr. Galvani to investigate the matter. The inquiry ended, as we know, in the great discovery which bears his name. Thus, our frog has the fivefold honour of being harmless in habits, interesting for its transformations, useful as food, asso ciated with literature, and connected with science. COMPARATIVE ANATOMY.-III. SUB-DIVISIONS OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM-TABLE OF SUB- I. THE main divisions into which the animal kingdom is divided were given in the last lesson. We have now to sub-divide these branches into classes, a class being the next lower denomination in our arrangement. The order in which we now enumerate the classes will be an ascending one. We shall proceed from the lowest animals to the highest. This order is evidently the more scientific, because, other things being omitted from the consideration, it is always easier to proceed from the more simple to the more complex. Thus, in chemistry it is usual first to treat of the elements, or the most simple forms of inert matter, and then to proceed to compounds, made by the unions of these elements. By this method of procedure it is true that we deprive the student of anatomy who has just commenced the study of a valuable aid. In studying the higher animals, a knowledge of his own body, however superficial, the consciousness of what he feels, however faulty the inductions therefrom, and the constant presence of a similar living subject on whom to experiment, all furnish illustrations to the tyro of structure in relation to life. When, however, we begin by a description of animals so far removed from himself as the Protozoa, there is nothing which he learns about them which fits in with his previous conceptions. The animals themselves can inspire him with little interest as compared with those higher beings with whom we have not only an essential community of structure, but whose very instincts and sympathies we share. The student, however, should remember that his conceptions of the phenomena of life, and his interest in animals, will dawn upon him with greater clearness and a more genial warmth, as he proceeds and arrives at the study of the higher forms, by having first mastered the successive steps by which the great problem of life has been worked out. One question must be answered before we can proceed along the road which we have decided to be the best and safest. When may an animal be said to be higher or lower than another in the scale of the animal creation ? The self-complacent assumption that man is the highest animal, and that an animal is higher or lower in proportion as he is more or less like to him, will serve us but little; because, as we have seen, animals cannot be ranged in a single series, and there is no link of connection between some of the branches we have given and that to which we belong. One principle alone should guide us in our arrangement, and that is illustrated by the following axiom :-An animal may be said to be higher than another if its structure is more complex. If an animal performs many or all of the functions of life by or through one structure, it is low in the scale; but if certain parts are separated and assigned VOL. II. I. IV. V. to the performance of definite vital acts, which acts are therefore done more efficiently, then the animal occupies a higher station. Just as political economists will tell us that nations are more or less civilised in proportion as the principle of the sub-division of labour is followed out in their communities, so the comparative anatomist will esteem that animal the highest whose body is made up of the greatest number of different organs. This idea has given origin to a technical term, which, though barbarous English, is useful for conciseness. When the reader meets with the expression that an animal manifests greater differentiation of parts than another, he will henceforth know not only what is meant, but also the bearings of the statement. Differentiation, however, must be distinguished III. II. from multiplication of parts. The possession by an animal of many organs all alike in function and structure, is a sign rather of a low than of a high station. A worm's body is composed of very many rings, while the bee has only thirteen at most; but, with the exception of the head and tail segment of the worm, they are all alike, while every ring of the bee is dissimilar. This latter animal, therefore, is much higher, because it manifests a greater differentiation of organs. The tendency of an animal to produce a repetition of the same structure, whether the structures so formed be set forth in a radical manner or in a longitudinal series, is called a "vegetative repetition of parts." The most prominent feature in the vegetable forms which clothe the landscape, and which therefore give to us our ideas of vegetable life, is their unlimited growth, resulting in the almost infinite production of like parts. The forest tree has ten thousand leaves, all built upon a framework of netted veins of the same pattern. When the chestnut puts forth its "milky cones," it does so in rich profusion, and each of these bears many flowers, all AMEBA (AFTER PRITCHARD). II. SHELL OF POLYCYSTINA (MUCH MAGNIalike. Thus, the phrase (AFTER HUXLEY). IV. GROUP OF VORTICELLE (MAGNIFIED). V. NOCTILUCA vegetative repetition is derived from the most promiMILIARIS (MUCH MAGNIFIED). nent feature presented to FIED). III. SECTIONAL DIAGRAM SHOWING THE CIRCULATION IN A SPONGE and impressed upon the mind as associated with vegetable life. Combining this idea of vegetable growth with the knowledge that the vegetable kingdom has never developed any organic form at all comparable for the exhibition of the higher functions of life to those which we find in the animal kingdom, we assume that this vegetative repetition of parts is a sign of a low grade of structure: so doubtless it is, but it is not a sign of the lowest grade. In tracing upward the different forms assumed by living animals, the idea strikes the mind that Nature's first effort was to form a simple individual like a cell. The next step seems to be an indefinite multiplication of similar celliform bodies in such connection with one another as to form an aggregate individual, and then these parts become more specialised and consequently more interdependent, and at the same time more definite and fewer in number. In the following table we have, as far as it was possible, 34 may be learnt by ear as well as nursery songs, and are so learnt in large classes. Progress is thus made, but the pupil's great difficulty is in remembering, when fourths, thirds, sixths, sevenths are grouped promiscuously together, what is the precise sound [mental effect] belonging to each. And to learn this without the incessant practice of professional singers (which makes it an affair not of mind but of habit) an appeal must be made to the understanding, and the pupil must be taught the quality of the sounds characteristic of each interval. M. Jeu de Berneval's system [M. Jeu was professor of sight-singing at the Royal Academy of Music], which may be termed an intellectual method, differs entirely from that of Wilhelm, which is purely mechanical from beginning to end. M. Jeu draws the attention of his pupils to the fact that each interval [it would be more correct to say note] of the diatonic scale has a sound so peculiar to itself, that, when its character is once understood, they can never be at a loss to distinguish it from any other. For example, the seventh (TE) may be remembered by noting its tendency to ascend to the eighth (DOH). The ear cannot rest or repose on the seventh. It is a note of passage, leading to the octave of the key. The fourth (FAH) and the sixth (LAH) are in like manner notes of passage, but having a tendency to descend. The fourth (FAH) leads to the third (ME), and the sixth (LAH) to the fifth (SOH); while the first (DOH), third (ME), fifth (soн), and eighth (upper DOH), are all notes of repose-notes upon which the ear may rest-employed, therefore, as the concluding chord of every composition, and remembered with ease as the most natural progression from the key-note to its octave. For example:KEY G. Leading notes. easy to perceive musical effects, than to find words that will sufficiently represent them; but if the names must be given, this note should be called (in reference to its effect in a slow movement) THE STRONG or firm NOTE. SOн has a similar effect to DOH, but is not equal to it in power. It may be distinguished (when sung slowly) as THE GRAND or clear NOTE. ME has a somewhat graver and softer effect than soн. It may be denominated (especially in slow movements), THE STEADY or calm NOTE. When DOH, ME, and sон predominate in a tune, they contribute to its general character: if the movement be a quick one, great BOLDNESS and DECISION; and if the movement be a slow one, they give it DIGNIFIED SOLEMNITY. Of course, the power of any particular note to give a character to the tune in which it occurs, will depend on the frequency and the emphasis with which it is used, and will be modified, also, by the kind of "measure" and the rhythmical arrangement in which it occurs. In studying the following examples, let the pupil always strike the chord of the key-note, and part, at least, of the scale before he begins to sing the phrase; for our assertions in reference to the mental effects of notes are not true, unless the ear is first filled with "a sense" of the scale in which they occur. For "dignified solemnity," notice the power of DOH, ME, and SOH in the following opening phrases from Handel. You will remark how, in each case, the great artist takes advantage of these bold and grand notes to bring out, by contrast, a very marked effect on some of the other notes, as with RAY on the word "fair," and with FAH on the word "Redeemer;" but of these notes we shall speak afterwards. You will also notice how the "triple time" (trinary measure), in the second example, allows increased emphasis and power to the great notes which so fully express the grand and sure confidence of faith. KEY F. [Let the learner in the old notation pay no attention to the new marks at the beginning of the staff. They will be explained in their place, and are inserted here for the sake of those who understand music. He has only to look for the place of DOH indicated by the square note as before.] The way to impress these distinctions on the mind is, after having given the explanation, to sing or play to the pupil various intervals, and to direct him to write them down, finding out for himself what the intervals are by listening attentively. We would strongly recommend the frequent repetition of such an exercise as one of the most profitable in which a pupil can be engaged. The teacher, however, must be careful, in singing, not always to use the same words or syllables, so as to give any other clue to the interval [note] than the actual sound [mental effect] belonging to it. [This is the practice of "copying by ear," which we shall recommend to our pupils in its proper plac] As an instance of the facility with which this power may be acquired, we may mention that we once heard a little boy, under six years of age (taught by M. Jeu), name correctly the intervals of every chord we struck on the pianoforte, the boy standing with his back to the instrument. Perhaps it is only the children of musicians in the habit of hearing musical sounds from the moment of birth-who would at the same age attain an equal proficiency; but there is practically no difficulty in teaching either children or adults to distinguish by the ear separate intervals played upon a flute or a violin, and this kind of practice is generally as pleasing as it is profitable to the pupil." Let us now simply state our own conclusions in reference to the three principal notes of the scale, asking our pupils to verify or reject them by observation. DOH (being the "governing" note) gives a sense of POWER to the hearer, and of SECURITY to the singer in a greater degree than any other. The singer feels it to be the note to which he c any point, most easily return. It is more r d sha'll r r no't m:wantBut another striking illustration occurs to us. A minister had heard, and had been greatly moved by Mendelssohn's song "Oh! rest in the Lord." He preached on the text, and thought much of that repose which comes, not with weariness or sleep, but with living blessedness. Some time after, thinking on the power of the notes of the scale, it occurred to him that Mendelssohn must surely have expressed the idea of rest in God, chiefly by means of the third note of the scale, ME, which we have called the note of serene repose. "If by any other note," he said to himself, "that peculiar effect was produced on my mind so strongly, then the theory about mental effects must fall to the ground." He at once analysed the song, and found that the very first emphatic note was that which he had ex pected that the power of this note was brought out, by placing it in ever-varying but most effective positions; and that, even when the key changes, the ear is surprised and pleased by the recurrence again of this same third note in the new scale. Among other studies in this delightful song, it was pleasant to notice the change in the manner in which the word "Lord " is expressed in the latter part of the song. At first, it is uttered with the firm and sure confidence of the note DOH; but, when that spirit of confidence has risen to a somewhat triumphant feeling, then it must use the "clear" and "grand" note SOH. The chorus in Judas Maccabæus, "Lead on! Lead on!" begins thus::-KEY D. sds d' s d' s d'. The call to arms in the same oratorio makes the most emphatic use of these notes. The most inspiring call is evidently that in which the "trumpet note" SOH is chiefly used. The following are some of the phrases in which the call to arms is the most bold and decided: Notice the effect of ME, in each case where it occurs on the strong parts of the measure, but especially in the last case in this quotation. What full-hearted satisfaction and perfect rest it brings? The words and the music aid each other to move the heart. For the effect of "boldness and decision," which DOH, ME, and SOH (sung somewhat quickly) give to a tune, we may quote the martial music of Handel. "See the conquering Hero comes" begins thus: LESSONS IN GERMAN.-XXVII. SECTION LI.-VERBS REQUIRING THE DATIVE OR ACCUSATIVE. SOME verbs govern the dative or accusative, according to their signification, as :-Laß mir eins von deinen Büchern, leave me one of your books. Laß mich zwei Worte mit teiner Matter sprechen, let me speak two words with your mother. Er bekommt das Geld, he gets the money. Diese Speise bekommt mir nicht, this food does 1 agree with me. |