ones, and after that was never tired of displaying his new swimming powers. The fore legs followed in due time; and when all this was done, the tail, which he no longer needed to steer with, dropped off, and my largest tadpole became a little frog.

His brothers and sisters, such of them as were left (for, I grieve to say, he had required a great many hearty meals to enable him to reach the frog state), followed his illustrious example as soon as they were able. And then, of course, my little bowl of water was no suitable home for them; so away they went out into the grass, among the shallow pools, and into the swamps. I never knew exactly where; and I am afraid that, should I meet even my progressive little captain again, I should hardly recognize him, so grown and altered he would be. He no longer devours his brothers, but, with a tongue as long as his body, seizes slugs and insects, and swallows them whole.

In the winter he sleeps with his brothers and sisters, with the bottom of some pond or marsh for a bed, where they all pack themselves away, hundreds together, laid so closely that you can't distinguish one from another.

But early in the spring, you may hear their loud croaking; and when the March sun has thawed the ice from the ponds, the mother frogs are all very busy with their eggs, which they leave in the shallow water-round jelly-like masses, like the one I told you of at the beginning of this story, made up of hundreds and hundreds of eggs. For the frog mother

hopes for a large family of children, and she knows, by sad experience that no sooner are they born than the fishes snap them up by the dozen; and even after they have found their legs, and begin to feel old, and competent to take care of themselves, the snakes and the weasels will not hesitate to take two or three for breakfast, if they come in the way. So you see the mother frog has good reason for laying so many eggs.

The toads, too, who, by the way, are cousins to the frogs, come down in April to lay their eggs also in the water-long necklaces of a double row of fine transparent eggs, each one showing its black dot, which is to grow into a tadpole, and swim about with its cousins, the frog tadpoles; while they all look so much alike that I fancy their own mothers do not know them apart.

I once picked up a handful of them, and took them home. One grew up to be a charming little tree toad, while some of his companions gave good promise, by their big awkward forms, of growing by and by into great bullfrogs.

-Annabelle Buckley.

Courtesy, Lothrop, Lee, and Shepard.

HELPS TO STUDY

1. Prepare at least five good questions to ask the “Lecturer" -something you really wish to know. 2. Find a tree toad or frog near your home and make a record of your observations. You may want to use such headings as these: Coloration Habits Food Home Friends Enemies

Other Selections: Latona and the Frogs, Greek Myths, KUPFER; The Mystery of the Tadpole, LEWIS.

WONDERS OF THE DEEP

One likes to read legendary tales of Neptune and his kingdom, of Undine and her sister nymphs, for in this manner, the people of long ago tried to explain the wonders of the sea. The studies of scientists have replaced these "guesses," or "guests of the imagination," with facts that are stranger than fiction. Here are some of them. Read carefully and as quickly as you can, in ten minutes, or less, and plan for a "Fact Racing Game."

sea.

I

Not very many years ago, it was supposed that life was altogether absent in the deeper parts of the Now we know that this is not the case. Expeditions of scientific men have been sent out by different countries to dredge in very deep water, and their discoveries have clearly proved that fishes, mollusks, crustaceans, and even the soft-bodied sea anemones are capable of living more than three miles below the surface of the ocean.

To those profound depths no ray of sunlight can ever penetrate; and, though many of the deep-sea creatures possess eyes, we might think that they would never have an opportunity of using them. For to see in absolute darkness is impossible. We often say, it is true, that cats can see in the dark; but the fact is, that even on the darkest night there is always some little light, while a cat's eyes are

made in such a way that they can take in many more rays of light than our eyes. The animal, consequently, is able to see clearly when we ourselves

can scarcely see at all.

But at the bottom of the sea the darkness is almost complete, so that to the creatures of the deep, eyes would seem useless.

But that is not all. The bodies of these animals must be able to resist an almost inconceivable pressure. We ourselves, living at the bottom of the ocean of air, have to endure an atmospheric pressure of fifteen pounds to the square inch; that is to say, the weight of the air above us is so great, that it presses upon every part of our bodies with exactly that degree of force.

If, however, we dive under water, we have to bear the pressure of the water in addition to this; and as water is very much heavier than air, this pressure soon becomes so great that even a trained diver cannot descend to a depth of more than fifty fathoms.

Now, fishes and other animals have been found at a depth of over three miles. This means that they have to endure, upon every square inch of their bodies, a pressure of rather more than two tons and a half, or five-and-twenty times the force required to drive a railway train at a high rate of speed. It would seem impossible that any living creature could resist a pressure so tremendous.

Nevertheless, the inhabitants of the deep-sea are somewhat numerous. More than twenty kinds

of fishes alone have been found at a depth of more than two thousand fathoms; and, as only a very small portion of the ocean-bed has as yet been explored, we may feel quite certain that a great many more still remain to be discovered.

Strange to say, although these fishes live at depths so profound, they are not entirely destitute of light. The sun's rays cannot reach them, it is true; but, on the other hand, they are very frequently themselves luminous. In some cases their whole bodies glow with phosphorescent light, which seems to issue from the slime with which the skin is covered; in others the light proceeds from a double row of curious eye-like organs, which run along the sides from the head almost to the tail. Thus these animals are independent of sunlight. They are their own light givers. They dwell in the midst of absolute darkness, and yet are always able to see.

One of these luminous fishes uses its light for a very remarkable purpose. It is a creature of prey, feeding entirely upon other fishes; and its appetite is so voracious that it always appears to be hungry.

How successful this remarkable fish is in its angling, may be judged from the number of victims sometimes captured by its near relation, the fishing frog, which is found not uncommonly in shallow water. In the stomach of one of these fishes which was killed and opened immediately after capture, were found no fewer than seventy-five herrings,