of the fins and tail. Are its scales large or small? How does it use
its fins when at rest? When moving? Is it a strong swimmer? Is it a
high jumper?
4. Describe the eyes; how are they especially adapted in position
and in movement to the needs of a fish that lives on the bottom of
streams and ponds?
5. Note the nostrils; what is there peculiar about them?
6. Where is the mouth of the sucker situated? What is its form? How
is it adapted to get the food which the sucker likes best?
7. Tell all you know about the habits of the suckers. When do you see
them first in the spring? Where do they spend the winter? Where do
they go to spawn? How large is the largest one you have ever seen?
Why is their flesh usually considered poor in quality as food? Is
there a difference in the flavor of its flesh depending upon the
locality in which the fish lives? Why?
[Illustration: _The common sucker._]
[Illustration: “_I’m only wishing to go a fishing._”]
THE SHINER
_Teacher’s Story_
“_This is a noteworthy and characteristic lineament, or
cipher, or hieroglyphic, or type of spring. You look into some
clear, sandy bottomed brook where it spreads into a deeper
bay, yet flowing cold from ice and snow not far off, and see
indistinctly poised over the sand on invisible fins, the
outlines of the shiner, scarcely to be distinguished from the
sands behind it as if it were transparent._”--THOREAU.
[Illustration: T]
There are many species of shiners and it is by no means easy to
recognize them nor to distinguish them from chub, dace and minnows
since all these belong to one family; they all have the same
arrangement of fins and live in the same water; and the plan of this
lesson can with few changes be applied to any of them.
Never were seen more exquisite colors than shimmer along the sides
of the common shiner (_Notropis cornutus_). It is pale olive-green
above, just a sunny brook-color; this is bordered at the sides by
a line of iridescent blue-purple, while the shining silver scales
on the sides below, flash and glimmer with the changing hues of the
rainbow. The minnows are darker than the shiners; the horned dace
develops little tubercles on the head during the breeding season,
which are lost later.
The body of the shiner is ideal for slipping through the water. Seen
from above it is a narrow wedge, rounded in front and tapering to
a point behind; from the side, it is long, oval, lance-shaped. The
scales are large and beautiful, the lateral line looks like a series
of dots embroidered at the center of the diamond-shaped scales.
The dorsal fin is placed just back of the center of the body and is
not very large; it is composed of soft rays, the first two being
stiff and unbranched. The tail is long, large, graceful and deeply
notched. The anal fin is almost as large as the dorsal. The ventral
pair is placed on the lower side, opposite the dorsal fin; the
pectorals are set at the lower margin of the body, just behind the
gill openings. The shiner and its relatives use the pectoral fins
to aid in swimming, and keep them constantly in motion when moving
through the water. The ventrals are moved only now and then and
evidently help in keeping the balance. When the fish moves rapidly
forward, the dorsal fin is raised so that its front edge stands at
right angles to the body and the ventral and anal fins are expanded
to their fullest extent. But when the fish is lounging, the dorsal,
anal and ventral fins are more or less closed, although the tip of
the dorsal fin swings with every movement of the fish.
The eyes are large, the pupils being very large and black; the iris
is pale yellow and shining; the whole eye is capable of much movement
forward and back. The nostril is divided by a little projecting
partition which looks like a tubercle. The mouth is at the front of
the head; to see the capabilities of this mouth, watch the shiner
yawn, if the water of the aquarium becomes stale. Poor fellow! He
yawns just as we do in the effort to get more oxygen.
[Illustration: _The common shiner._]
The shiners are essentially brook fish although they may be found in
larger bodies of water. They lead a precarious existence, for the
larger fish eat them in all their stages. They only hold their own
by laying countless numbers of eggs. They feed on water insects and
get even with their big fish enemies by eating their eggs. They are
pretty and graceful little creatures and may be seen swimming up the
current in the middle of the brook. They often occur in schools or
flocks, especially when young.
LESSON XXXIX
THE SHINER
_Leading thought_--The shiners are among the most common of the
little fish in our small streams. They are beautiful in form and play
an important part in the life of our streams.
_Method_--Place in the aquarium shiners and as many as possible of
the other species of small fish found in our creeks and brooks. The
aquarium should stand where the pupil may see it often. The following
questions may be asked, giving the children plenty of time for the
work of observation:
_Observations_--1. Do you know how the shiner differs in appearance
from the minnow and chub and dace?
2. What is the shape of the shiner’s body when seen from above? When
seen from the side? Do you think that its shape fits it for moving
rapidly through the water?
3. What is the coloring above? On the sides? Below?
4. Are the scales large and distinct, or very small? Can you see the
lateral line? Where are the tiny holes, which make this line, placed
in the scales?
5. Describe or sketch the fish, showing position, relative size and
shape of all the fins and the tail.
6. Describe the use and movements of each of the fins when the fish
is swimming.
7. Describe the eyes. Do they move?
8. Describe the nostrils. Do you think each one is double?
9. Does the mouth open upwards, downwards or forwards? Have you ever
seen the shiner yawn? Why does it yawn? Why do you yawn?
10. Where do you find the shiners living? Do they haunt the middle of
the stream or the edges? Do you ever see them in flocks or schools?
* * * * *
_MINNOWS_
_How silent comes the water round that bend;
Not the minutest whisper does it send
To the o’er hanging sallows; blades of grass
Slowly across the chequer’d shadows pass,
Why, you might read two sonnets, ere they reach
To where the hurrying freshnesses aye preach
A natural sermon o’er their pebbly beds;
Where swarms of minnows show their little heads,
Staying their wavy bodies ’gainst the streams,
To taste the luxury of sunny beams
Tempered with coolness. How they ever wrestle
With their own sweet delight, and ever nestle
Their silver bellies on the pebbly sand!
If you but scantily hold out the hand,
That very instant not one will remain;
But turn your eye, and there they are again.
The ripples seem right glad to reach those cresses,
And cool themselves among the em’rald tresses;
The while they cool themselves, they freshness give,
And moisture, that the bowery green may live._
--JOHN KEATS.
[Illustration: _A speckled trout on a brook bottom._
Photo by Verne Morton.]
THE BROOK TROUT
_Teacher’s Story_
“_Up and down the brook I ran, where beneath the banks so steep,
Lie the spotted trout asleep._”
--WHITTIER.
[Illustration: B]
But they were probably not asleep as Mr. Whittier might have observed
if he had cast a fly near one of them. There is in the very haunts
of the trout, a suggestion of where it gets its vigor and wariness:
The cold, clear streams where the water is pure; brooks that wind in
and out over rocky and pebbly beds, here shaded by trees and there
dashing through the open,--it makes us feel vigorous even to think
of such streams. Under the overhanging bank or in the shade of some
fallen log or shelving rock, the brook trout hides where he may see
all that goes on in the world above and around him without being
himself seen. Woe to the unfortunate insect that falls upon the
surface of the water in his vicinity or even that flies low over the
surface for the trout will jump easily far out of the water to seize
its prey! It is this habit of taking the insect upon and above the
water’s surface which has made trout fly-fishing the sport that it
is. Man’s ingenuity is fairly matched against the trout’s cunning in
this contest. I know of one old trout that has kept fishermen in the
region around on the _qui vive_ for years; and up to date he is still
alive, making a dash now and then at a tempting bait, showing himself
enough to tantalize his would-be captors with his splendid size, but
always retiring at the sight of the line.
The brook trout varies much in color, depending upon the soil and
the rocks of the streams in which it lives. Its back is marbled with
dark olive or black, making it just the color of shaded water. This
marbled coloration also marks the dorsal and the tail fins. The
sides, which vary much in color, are marked with beautiful vermilion
spots, each placed in the center of a larger, brownish spot. In some
instances the lower surface is reddish, in others whitish. All the
fins on the lower side of the body have the front edges creamy or
yellowish white, with a darker streak behind.
The trout’s head is quite large and somewhat blunt. The large eye
is a little in front of the middle of the head. The dorsal fin is
at about the middle of the body, and when raised is squarish in
outline. Behind the dorsal fin, and near to the tail is the little,
fleshy adipose fin, so called because it has no rays. The tail is
fan-shaped, slightly notched at the end and is large and strong. The
anal fin is rather large, being shaped much like the dorsal fin, only
slightly smaller. The ventral fins are directly below the dorsal fin
and a little behind its middle. The pectorals are low down, being
below and just behind the gill arches.
[Illustration: _Where the trout hide._]
In size the brook trout seldom is longer than seven or eight inches,
but in the rivers of the Northeastern United States specimens
weighing from six to eleven pounds are sometimes taken. It does not
flourish in water which is warmer than 68°, but prefers a temperature
of about 50°. It must have the pure water of mountain streams and
cannot endure water of rivers which is polluted by mills or the
refuse of cities. Where it has access to streams that flow into the
ocean, it forms the salt water habit, going out to sea and remaining
there during the winter. Such specimens become very large.
The trout can lay eggs when about six inches in length. The eggs are
laid from September until late November, although, as Mr. Bream says,
the brook trout are spawned at some locality in almost every month
of the year except mid-summer. One mother trout lays from 400 to
600 eggs, but the large-sized ones lay more. The period of hatching
depends upon the temperature of the water. In depositing their eggs
the trout seek water with gravelly bottom, often where some mountain
brook opens into a larger stream. The nest is shaped by the tail of
the fish, the larger stones being carried away in the mouth. To make
the precious eggs secure they are covered with gravel.
There have been strict laws enacted by almost all of our states
with a view to protecting the brook trout and preserving it in our
streams. The open season in New York is from the 15th of April to the
1st of September, and it is illegal to take from a stream a fish that
is less than five inches in length. It is the duty of every decent
citizen to abide by these laws and to see to it that his neighbors
observe them. The teacher cannot emphasize enough upon the child the
moral value of being law-abiding. There should be in every school in
the Union children’s clubs which should have for their purpose civic
honesty and the enforcement of laws which affect the city, village or
township.
Almost any stream with suitable water may be stocked with trout from
the national or the state hatcheries, but what is the use of this
expense if the game laws are not observed and these fish are caught
before they reach maturity, as is so often the case?
_References_--American Food and Game Fishes, Jordan & Everman; Guide
to American Fishes, Jordan.
LESSON XL
THE BROOK TROUT
_Leading thought_--The brook trout have been exterminated in our
streams largely because the game laws have not been observed. The
trout is the most cunning and beautiful of our common fishes and the
most valuable for food. If properly guarded, every pure mountain
stream in our country, could be well stocked with the brook trout.
_Method_--A trout may be kept in an aquarium of flowing water
indefinitely and should be fed upon liver and hard clams chopped. If
there is no aquarium with running water, the trout may be kept in an
ordinary jar long enough for this lesson. The object of this lesson
should be not only the study of the habits of the fish, but also a
lesson in its preservation.
_Observations_--1. In what streams are the brook trout found? Must
the water be warm or cold? Can the trout live in impure water? Can it
live in salt water?
2. Do the trout swim about in schools or do they live solitary? Where
do they like to hide?
3. With what kind of bait is trout caught? Why does it afford such
excellent sport for fly-fishing? Can you tell what the food of the
trout is?
4. What is the color of the trout above? What colors along its sides?
What markings make the fish so beautiful? What is its color below?
Has the trout scales? Do you see the lateral line?
5. What is the general shape of the brook trout? Describe the shape,
position and color of the dorsal fin. Describe the little fin behind
the dorsal. Why is it unlike the other fins? What is the shape of
the tail fin? Is it rounded, square or crescent-shaped across the
end? What is the position and size of the anal fin compared with the
dorsal? What colors on the ventral fins and where are they placed in
relation to the dorsal fin? What color are the pectoral fins and how
are they placed in relation to the gill arches?
6. Describe the trout’s eyes. Are they large and alert? Do you think
the trout is keen-sighted?
7. When and where are the eggs laid? Describe how the nest is made.
How are the eggs covered and protected?
8. Why are there no trout in the streams of your neighborhood? Could
a trout live in these streams? Can you get state aid in stocking the
streams?
9. What are the game laws concerning trout fishing? When is the open
season? How long must the trout be to be taken legally? If you are a
good citizen what do you do about the game laws?
10. Write a story telling all you know about the wariness, cunning
and strength of the brook trout.
_Supplementary reading_--The following from Fish Stories by Holder
and Jordan: “The Trout of Los Laurelles;” “The Golden Trout of the
High Sierras;” “The Lure of the Rainbow.” “The Story of the Salmon”
in Science Sketches; “The Master of the Golden Pool” in Watchers of
the Trails; The Story of the Fishes, Baskett; Neighbors with Wings
and Fins, Johonnet.
* * * * *
_TROUT_
“_It is well for anglers not to make trout, of all fishes, the
prime objective of a day’s sport, as no more uncertain game
loves the sunlight. Today he is yours for the very asking;
tomorrow, the most luscious lure will not tempt him. One hour
he defies you, the next, gazes at you from some ensconcement
of the fishes, and knows you not, as you pass him, casting,
by._
_I believe I accumulated some of this angling wisdom years
ago, in a certain trout domain in New England, where there
were streams and pools, ripples, cascades and drooping trees;
where everything was fair and promising to the eyes for trout;
but it required superhuman patience to lure them, and many a
day I scored a blank. Yet on these very days when lures were
unavailing, the creel empty save for fern leaves, I found they
were not for naught; that the real fishing day was a composite
of the weather, the wind, even if it was from the east, the
splendid colors of forest trees, the blue tourmaline of the
sky that topped the stream amid the trees, the flecks of cloud
mirrored on the surface. The delight of anticipation, the
casting, the play of the rod, the exercise of skill, the quick
turns in the steam opening up new vistas, the little openings
in the forest, through which were seen distant meadows and
nodding flowers--all these went to make up the real trout
fishing, the actual catch being but an incident among many
delights._
_Just how long one could be content with mere scenery in lieu
of trout, I am not prepared to say; if pushed to the wall, I
confess that when fishing I prefer trout to scenic effects.
Still, it is a very impracticable and delightful sentiment
with some truth to it, the moral being that the angler should
be resourceful, and not be entirely cast down on the days when
the wind is in the east._
_I am aware that this method of angling is not in vogue with
some, and would be deemed fanciful, indeed inane, by many
more; yet it is based upon a true and homely philosophy, not
of today, the philosophy of patience and contentment. “How
poor are they that have not patience,” said Othello. It is
well to be content with things as we find them, and it is well
to go a-fishing, not to catch fish alone, but every offering
the day has to give. This should be an easy matter for the
angler, as Walton tells us that Angling is somewhat like
poetry, men are to be born so._”
--FISH STORIES, JORDAN AND HOLDER.
THE STICKLEBACK
_Teacher’s Story_
[Illustration: _Stickleback guarding his nest._
Drawn from nature.]
This is certainly the most sagacious of the Lilliputian vertebrates;
scarcely more than an inch in length when full-grown, it gazes at
you with large, keen, shining-rimmed eyes, takes your measure and
darts off with a flirt of the tail that says plainly, “Catch me if
you can.” The sticklebacks are delightful aquarium pets because their
natural home is in still water sufficiently stagnant for algæ to
grow luxuriously; thus we but seldom need to change the water in the
aquarium, which, however, should be well stocked with water plants
and have gravel at the bottom.
When the stickleback is not resting he is always going somewhere
and he knows just where he is going and what he is going to do, and
earthquakes shall not deter him. He is the most dynamic creature in
all creation, I think, except perhaps the dragon fly, and he is so
ferocious that if he were as large as a shark he would destroy all
other fishes. Place an earthworm, cut into small sections, in the
aquarium and while each section is wriggingly considering whether
it may be able to grow both ends into another worm, the stickleback
takes hold with a will and settles the matter in the negative. His
ferocity is frightful to behold as he seizes his prey and shakes it
as a terrier does a rat.
Well is this fish named stickleback, for along the ridge of its back
are sharp, strong spines--five of them in our tiny, brook species.
These spines may be laid back flat or they may be erected stiffly,
making an efficient saw which does great damage to fish many times
larger than the stickleback. When we find the minnows in the aquarium
losing their scales we may be sure they are being raked off by
this saw-back; and if the shiner or sunfish undertakes to make a
stickleback meal, there is only one way to do it, and that is to
catch the quarry by the tail, since he is too alert to be caught in
any other way. But swallowing a stickleback tail first is a dangerous
performance, for the sharp spines rip open the throat or stomach of
the captor. Dr. Jordan says that the sticklebacks of the Puget Sound
region are called “salmon killers” and that they well earn the name;
these fierce midgets unhesitatingly attack the salmon, biting off
pieces of their fins and also destroying their spawn.
As seen from the side, the stickleback is slender and graceful,
pointed like an arrow at the front end, and with the body behind
the dorsal fin forming a long and slender pedicel to support the
beautifully rounded tail fin. The dorsal fin is placed well back
and is triangular in shape; the anal fin makes a similar triangle
opposite it below and has a sharp spine at its front edge. The color
of the body varies with the light; when floating among the water weed
the back is greenish mottled with paler green, but when the fish is
down on the gravel it is much darker. The lateral line is marked by a
rather broad silver stripe.
If large eyes count for beauty, then the stickleback deserves “the
apple,” for its eyes are not only large but gemlike, with a broad
iris of golden brown around the black pupil. I am convinced that the
stickleback has a keener vision than most fish; it can move its eyes
backward and forward rapidly and alertly. The mouth opens almost
upward and is a wicked little mouth, both in appearance and action.
When swimming, the stickleback darts about rapidly, its dorsal and
anal fins extended, its spines all abristle, its tail lashing the
water with strong strokes and the pectorals flying so fast that they
make a blur; the ventral fins are rarely extended, in fact they are
nothing but two little spines. When the fish wishes to lift itself
through the water it seems to depend entirely upon its pectoral
fins and these are also used for balancing. Its favorite position
is hanging motionless among the pond weeds, with the tail, the
dorsal and ventral fins partially closed; it usually rests upon the
pectoral fins which are braced against some stem; in one case I saw
the ventrals and pectorals used together to clasp a stem and hold the
fish in place. In moving backward the pectorals do the work, with a
little beckoning motion of the tail occasionally. When resting upon
the bottom of the aquarium, it closes its fins and makes itself quite
inconspicuous. It can dig with much power accomplishing this by a
comical augerlike motion; it plunges head first into the gravel and
then by twisting the body and tail around and around, it soon forms a
hiding place.
But it is as a house builder and father and home protector that
the stickleback shines. In the early spring he builds him a nest
made from the fine green algæ called frog-spittle. This would seem
a too delicate material for the house construction, but he is a
clever builder. He fastens his filmy walls to some stems of reed or
grass, using as a platform a supporting stem; the ones which I have
especially studied were fastened to grass stems. The stickleback has
a little cement plant of his own, supposed to be situated in the
kidneys, which at this time of year secrete the glue for building
purposes. The glue is waterproof. It is spun out in fine threads or
in filmy masses through an opening near the anal fin. One species
weights his platform with sand which he scoops up from the bottom,
but I cannot detect that our brook stickleback does this. In his
case, home is his sphere literally, for he builds a spherical house
about the size of a glass marble, three-quarters of an inch in
diameter; it is a hollow sphere and he cements the inside walls so as
to hold them back and give room, and he finishes his pretty structure
with a circular door at the side. When finished, the nest is like a
bubble, made of threads of down and yet it holds together strongly.
In the case of the best known species, the male, as soon as he has
finished his bower to his satisfaction, goes a-wooing; he selects
some lady stickleback, and in his own way tells her of the beautiful
nest he has made and convinces her of his ability to take care of a
family. He certainly has fetching ways for he soon conducts her to
his home. She enters the nest through the little circular door, lays
her eggs within it, and then being a flighty creature, she sheds
responsibilities and flits off care free. He follows her into the
nest, scatters the fertilizing milt over the eggs and then starts off
again and rolls his golden eyes on some other lady stickleback and
invites her also to his home; she comes without any jealousy because
she was not first choice, and she also enters the nest and lays her
eggs and then swims off unconcernedly. Again he enters the nest and
drops more milt upon the eggs and then fares forth again, a still
energetic wooer. If there was ever a justified polygamist, he is one,
since it is only the cares and responsibilities of the home that he
desires. He only stops wooing when his nest holds as many eggs as he
feels equal to caring for. He now stands on guard by the door, and
with his winnowing pectoral fins, sets up a current of water over the
eggs; he drives off all intruders with the most vicious attacks, and
keeps off many an enemy simply by a display of reckless fury; thus he
stands guard until the eggs hatch and the tiny little sticklebacks
come out of the nest and float off, attaching themselves by their
mouths to the pond weeds until they become strong enough to scurry
around in the water.
[Illustration: _The five-spined stickleback and his nest._
Photo by Eugene Barker.]
Some species arrange two doors in this spherical nest so that a
current of water can flow through and over the eggs. Mr. Eugene
Barker, who has made a special study of the little five-spined
sticklebacks of the Cayuga Basin, has failed to find more than one
door to their nests. Mr. Barker made a most interesting observation
on this stickleback’s obsession for fatherhood. He placed in the
aquarium two nests, one of which was guarded by its loyal builder,
which allowed himself to be caught rather than desert his post;
the little guardian soon discovered the unprotected nest and began
to move the eggs from it to his own, carrying them carefully in
his mouth. This addition made his own nest so full that the eggs
persistently crowded out of the door, and he spent much of his time
nudging them back with his snout. We saw this stickleback fill his
mouth with algæ from the bottom of the aquarium, and holding himself
steady a short distance away, apparently blow the algæ at the nest
from a distance of half an inch, and we wondered if this was his
method of laying on his building materials before he cemented them.
The eggs of this species are white and shining like minute pearls,
and seem to be fastened together in small packages with gelatinous
matter. The mating habits of this species have not been thoroughly
studied; therefore, here is an opportunity for investigation on the
part of the boys and girls.
LESSON XLI
THE STICKLEBACK
_Leading thought_--The stickleback is the smallest of our common
fish. It lives in stagnant water. The father stickleback builds his
pretty nest of frog-spittle which he watches very carefully.
_Method_--To find sticklebacks go to a pond of stagnant water which
does not dry up during the year. If it is partly shaded by bushes so
much the better. Take a dip net and dip deeply; carefully examine all
the little fish in the net by putting them in a Mason jar of water
so that you can see what they are like. The stickleback is easily
distinguished by the five spines along its back. If you collect these
fish as early as the first of May and place several of them in the
aquarium with plenty of the algæ known as frog-spittle and other
water plants they may perhaps build a nest for you. They may be fed
upon bits of meat or liver chopped very fine or upon earthworms cut
into small sections.
_Observations_--1. How did the stickleback get its name? How many
spines has it? Where are they situated? Are they always carried
erect? How are these spines used as weapons? How do they act as a
means of safety to the stickleback?
2. Describe or make a sketch showing the shape and position of the
dorsal, the anal, the ventral and the pectoral fins. What is the
shape of the tail? What is the general shape of the fish?
3. What is the color of the sticklebacks? Is the color always the
same? What is the color and position of the lateral line?
4. Describe the eyes. Are they large or small? Can they be moved? Do
you think they can see far?
5. Describe the mouth. Does it open upward, straight ahead or
downward?
6. When the stickleback is swimming what are the positions and
motions of the dorsal, anal, tail and pectoral fins? Can you see the
ventral pair? Are they extended when the fish is swimming?
7. When resting among the pond weed of the aquarium what fins does
the stickleback use for keeping afloat? How are the other fins held?
What fins does it use to move backward? Which ones are used when it
lifts itself from the bottom to the top of the aquarium? How are its
fins placed when it is at rest on the bottom?
8. Drop a piece of earthworm or some liver or fresh meat cut finely
into the aquarium and describe the action of the sticklebacks as they
eat it. How large is a full-grown stickleback?
9. In what kind of ponds do we find sticklebacks? Do you know how the
stickleback nest looks? Of what is it built? How is it supported? Is
there one door or two? Does the father or mother stickleback build
the nest? Are the young in the nest cared for? At what time is the
nest built?
_Supplementary reading_--Fish-stories, Chap. XXXVI, Jordan and Holder.
[Illustration: _The sunfish likes quiet waters for nesting._]
THE SUNFISH
_Teacher’s Story_
[Illustration: T]
This little disc of gay color has won many popular names. It is
called pumpkin seed, tobacco box and sunfish because of its shape,
and it is also called bream and pondfish. I have always wondered
that it was not called chieftain also, for when it raises its dorsal
fin with its saw crest of spines, it looks like the head-dress of an
Indian chief; and surely no warrior ever had a greater enjoyment in a
battle than does this indomitable little fish.
The sunfish lives in the eddies of our clear brooks and ponds. It is
a near relative to the rock bass and also of the black bass and it
has, according to its size, just as gamey qualities as the latter.
I once had a sunfish on my line which made me think I had caught a
bass and I do not know whether I or the mad little pumpkin seed was
the most disgusted when I discovered the truth. I threw him back in
the water but his fighting spirit was up, and he grabbed my hook
again within five minutes, which showed that he had more courage than
wisdom; it would have served him right if I had fried him in a pan,
but I never could make up my mind to kill a fish for the sake of one
mouthful of food.
Perhaps of all its names, “pumpkin seed” is the most graphic, for it
resembles this seed in the outlines of its body when seen from the
side. Looked at from above, it has the shape of a powerful craft with
smooth, rounded nose and gently swelling and tapering sides; it is
widest at the eyes and this is a canny arrangement, for these great
eyes turn alertly in every direction; and thus placed they are able
to discern the enemy or the dinner coming from any quarter.
The dorsal fin is a most militant looking organ. It consists of ten
spines, the hind one closely joined to the hind dorsal fin, which is
supported by the soft rays. The three front spines rise successively,
one above another and all are united by the membrane, the upper edge
of which is deeply toothed. The hind dorsal fin is gracefully rounded
and the front and hind fin work independently of each other, the
latter often winnowing the water when the former is laid flat. The
tail is strong and has a notch in the end; the anal fin has three
spines on its front edge and ten soft rays. Each ventral fin also has
a spine at the front edge and is placed below and slightly behind the
pectorals. The pectoral fins, I have often thought, were the most
exquisite and gauzelike in texture of any fins I have ever seen;
they are kept almost constantly in motion and move in such graceful
flowing undulations that it is a joy to look at them.
[Illustration: _The pumpkin seed, the most common sunfish._]
The eye of the sunfish is very large and quite prominent; the large
black pupil is surrounded by an iris that has shining lavender and
bronze in it, but is more or less clouded above; the young ones have
a pale silver iris. The eyes move in every direction and are eager
and alert in their expression. The mouth is at the front of the body
but it opens upward. The gill opening is prolonged backward at the
upper corner, making an earlike flap; this, of course, has nothing
to do with the fish’s ears, but it is highly ornamental as it is
greenish-black in color, bordered by iridescent, pale green, with a
brilliant orange spot on its hind edge. The colors of the sunfish
are too varied for description and too beautiful to reduce to mere
words. There are dark, dull, greenish or purplish cross-bands worked
out in patterns of scale-mosaic, and between them are bands of pale
iridescent-green, set with black-edged orange spots. But just as
we have described his colors our sunfish darts off and all sorts
of shimmering, shining blue, green and purple tints play over his
body and he settles down into another corner of the aquarium and his
colors seem much paler and we have to describe him over again. The
body below is brassy-yellow.
[Illustration: _Male of the sunfish guarding his nest._
After Gill]
The beautiful colors which the male sunfish dons in spring, he
puts at once to practical use. Professor Reighard says that when
courting and trying to persuade his chosen one to come to his nest
and there deposit her eggs, he faces her, with his gill covers
puffed out, the scarlet or orange spot on the ear-flap standing out
bravely, and his black ventral fins spread wide to show off their
patent-leather finish. Thus, does he display himself before her and
persuade her; but he is rarely allowed to do this in peace. Other
males as brilliant as he arrive on the scene and he must forsooth
stop parading before his lady love in order to fight his rival, and
he fights with as much display of color as he courts. But in the
sunfish duel the participants do not seek to destroy each other
but to mutilate spitefully each other’s fins. The vanquished one
with his fins all torn retires from the field. Professor Gill says:
“Meanwhile the male has selected a spot in very shallow water near
the shore, and generally in a mass of aquatic vegetation, not too
large or close together to entirely exclude the light and heat of the
sun, and mostly under an over-hanging plant. The choice is apt to
be in some general strip of shallow water close by the shore which
is favored by many others so that a number of similar nests may be
found close together, although never encroaching on each other. Each
fish slightly excavates and makes a saucer-like basin in the chosen
area which is carefully cleared of all pebbles. Such are removed
by violent jerks of the caudal fin or are taken up by the mouth
and carried to the circular boundary of the nest. An area of fine,
clean sand or gravel is generally the result, but not infrequently,
according to Dr. Reighard, the nest bottom is composed of the
rootlets of water plants. The nest has a diameter of about twice the
length of the fish.”
On the nest thus formed, the sunfish belle is invited to deposit her
eggs, which as soon as laid fall to the bottom and become attached
to the gravel at the bottom of the nest by the viscid substance
which surrounds them. Her duty is then done and she departs, leaving
the master in charge of his home and the eggs. If truth be told,
he is not a strict monogamist. Professor Reighard noticed one of
these males which reared in one nest two broods laid at quite
different times by two females. For about a week, depending upon the
temperature, the male is absorbed in his care of the eggs and defends
his nest with much ferocity, but after the eggs have hatched he
considers his duty done and lets his progeny take care of themselves
as best they may.
Sunfish are easily taken care of in an aquarium, but each should be
kept by himself as they are likely to attack any smaller fish and are
most uncomfortable neighbors. I have kept one of these beautiful,
shimmering pumpkin seeds for nearly a year, by feeding him every
alternate day with an earthworm; these unfortunate creatures are kept
stored in damp soil in an iron kettle during the winter. When I threw
one of them into the aquarium he would seize it and shake it as a
terrier shakes a rat; but this was perhaps to make sure of his hold.
Once he attempted to take the second worm directly after the first;
but it was a doubtful proceeding, and the worm reappeared as often as
a prima donna, waving each time a frenzied farewell to the world.
LESSON XLII
THE SUNFISH
_Leading thought_--The pumpkin seeds are very gamey little fishes
which seize the hook with much fierceness. They live in the still
waters of our streams or in ponds and build nests in the spring, in
which the eggs are laid and which they defend valiantly.
_Method_--The common pumpkin seed in the jar aquarium is all that is
necessary for this lesson. However, it will add much to the interest
of the lesson if the boys who have fished for pumpkin seeds will
tell of their experiences. The children should be stimulated by this
lesson to a keen interest in the nesting habits of the sunfishes.
_Observations_--1. Where are the sunfish found? How do they act when
they take the hook?
2. What is the general shape of the sunfish’s body as seen from
above? As seen from the side? Why is it called pumpkin seed?
3. Describe the dorsal fin. How many spines has it? How many soft
rays? What is the difference in appearance between the front and
hind dorsal fin? Do the two act together or separately? Describe the
tail fin. Describe the anal fin. Has it any spines? If so, where are
they? Where are the ventral fins in relation to the pectorals? What
is there peculiar about the appearance and movements of the pectoral
fins?
4. Describe the eye of the sunfish. Is it large or small? Is it
placed so that the fish can see on each side? Does the eye move in
all directions?
5. Describe the position of the mouth. In which direction does it
open?
6. What is the color of the upper portion of the gill opening or
operculum? What is the general color of the sunfish? Above? Below?
Along the sides? What markings do you see?
7. Where does the sunfish make its nest? Does the father or mother
sunfish make the nest? Do one or both protect it? Describe the nest.
8. How many names do you know for the sunfish? Describe the actions
of your sunfish in the aquarium. How does he act when eating an
earthworm?
_Supplementary reading_--Chapters XXX, XXXVI, in Fish Stories, Jordan
and Holder.
* * * * *
“_The lamprey is not a fish at all, only a wicked imitation
of one which can deceive nobody. But there are fishes which
are unquestionably fish--fish from gills to tail, from head
to fin, and of these the little sunfish may stand first. He
comes up the brook in the spring, fresh as “coin just from the
mint,” finny arms and legs wide spread, his gills moving, his
mouth opening and shutting rhythmically, his tail wide spread,
and ready for any sudden motion for which his erratic little
brain may give the order. The scales of the sunfish shine
with all sorts of scarlet, blue, green and purple and golden
colors. There is a black spot on his head which looks like
an ear, and sometimes grows out in a long black flap, which
makes the imitation still closer. There are many species of
the sunfish, and there may be half a dozen of them in the same
brook, but that makes no difference; for our purposes they are
all one._
_They lie poised in the water, with all fins spread, strutting
like turkey-cocks, snapping at worms and little crustaceans
and insects whose only business in the brook is that the
fishes may eat them. When the time comes, the sunfish makes
its nest in the fine gravel, building it with some care--for
a fish. When the female has laid her eggs the male stands
guard until the eggs are hatched. His sharp teeth and snappish
ways, and the bigness of his appearance when the fins are all
displayed, keep the little fishes away. Sometimes, in his
zeal, he snaps at a hook baited with a worm. He then makes a
fierce fight, and the boy who holds the rod is sure that he
has a real fish this time. But when the sunfish is out of the
water, strung on a willow rod, and dried in the sun, the boy
sees that a very little fish can make a good deal of a fuss._”
--DAVID STARR JORDAN.
[Illustration: _The johnny darter likes a swift-flowing brook_]
THE JOHNNY DARTER
_Teacher’s Story_
“_We never tired of watching the little Johnny, or Tessellated
darter (Boleosoma nigrum), although our earliest aquarium
friend, (and the very first specimens showed us by a rapid
ascent of the river weed how ‘a Johnny could climb trees,’)
he has still many resources which we have never learned.
Whenever we try to catch him with the hand we begin with all
the uncertainty that characterized our first attempts, even
if we have him in a two-quart pail. We may know him by his
short fins, his first dorsal having but nine spines, and by
the absence of all color save a soft, yellowish brown, which
is freckled with darker markings. The dark brown on the sides
is arranged in seven or eight W-shaped marks, below which are
a few flecks of the same color. Covering the sides of the back
are the wavy markings and dark specks which have given the
name of the “Tessellated Darter;” but Boleosoma is a preferred
name, and we even prefer ‘boly’ for short. In the spring the
males have the head jet black; and this dark color often
extends on the back part of the body, so that the fish looks
as if he had been taken by the tail and dipped into a bottle
of ink. But with the end of the nuptial season this color
disappears and the fish regains his normal, strawy hue._
_His actions are rather bird-like; for he will strike
attitudes like a tufted titmouse and he flies rather than
swims through the water. He will, with much perseverance, push
his body between a plant and the sides of the aquarium and
balance himself on a slender stem. Crouching catlike before a
snail shell, he will snap off a horn which the unlucky owner
pushes timidly out. But he is also less dainty and seizing
the animal by the head, he dashes the shell against the
glass or stones until he pulls the body out and breaks the
shell._”--DAVID STARR JORDAN.
The johnny darters are, with the sticklebacks, the most amusing
little fish in the aquarium. They are well called darters since
their movements are so rapid when they are frightened that the eye
can scarcely follow them; and there is something so irresistibly
comical in their bright, saucy eyes, placed almost on top of the
head, that no one could help calling one of them “Johnny.” A “johnny”
will look at you from one side, and then as quick as a flash, will
flounce around and study you with the other eye and then come toward
you head-on so that he may take you in with both eyes; he seems just
as interested in the Johnny out of the jar as is the latter, in the
johnny within.
The johnny darter has a queer shaped body for a fish, for the head
and shoulders are the larger part of him; not that he suddenly
disappears into nothingness, by no means! His body is long and very
slightly tapering to the tail; along his lateral line he has a row of
olive-brown W’s worked out in scale-mosaics; and he has some other
scale-mosaics also following a pattern of angular lines and making
blotches along his back. The whole upper part of his body is pale
olive, which is a good imitation of the color of the brook.
The astonished and anxious look on the johnny darter’s face comes
from the peculiar position of the eyes which are set in the top of
his forehead; they are big, alert eyes, with large black pupils,
surrounded by a shining, pale yellow line at the inner edge of the
green iris; and as the pupil is not set in the center of the eye, the
iris above being wider than below, the result is an astonished look,
as from raised eyebrows. The eyes move, often so swiftly that it
gives the impression of winking. The eyes, the short snout, and the
wide mouth give johnny a decidedly froglike aspect.
[Illustration: _The johnny darter._]
Although he is no frog, yet johnny darter seems to be in a fair way
to develop something to walk upon. His pectoral fins are large and
strong and the ventral pair are situated very close to them; when
he rests upon the gravel he supports himself upon one or both of
these pairs of fins. He rests with the pectoral fins outspread, the
sharp points of the rays taking hold of the gravel like toenails and
thus give him the appearance of walking on his fins; if you poke him
gently, you will find that he is very firmly planted on his fins so
that you can turn him around as if he were on a pivot. He also uses
the pectorals for swimming and jerks himself along with them in a way
that makes one wonder if he could not swim well without any tail at
all. The tail is large and almost straight across the end and is a
most vigorous pusher. There are two dorsal fins; the front one has
only nine rays; these are not branched and are therefore spines;
when the fin is raised it appears almost semi-circular in shape. The
hind dorsal fin is much longer and when lifted stands higher than
the front one; its rays are all branched except the front one. As
soon as the johnny stops swimming he shuts the front dorsal fin so
that it can scarcely be detected; when frightened he shuts both the
dorsal fins and closes the tail and the anal fin and spreads out
his paired fins so that his body lies flat on the bottom; this act
always reminds one of the “freezing” habit of the rabbit. But johnny
does not stay scared very long; he lifts his head up inquisitively,
stretching up as far as he is able on his front feet, that is, his
pectorals, in such a comical way that one can hardly realize he is a
fish.
The tail and the dorsal fin of the johnny darter are marked with
silver dots which give them an exquisite spun-glass look; they are as
transparent as gauze.
The johnny darters live in clear, swift streams where they rest on
the bottom, with the head up stream. Dr. Jordan has said they can
climb up water weed with their paired fins. I have never observed
them doing this but I have often seen one walk around the aquarium on
his fins as if they were little fan-shaped feet; and when swimming
he uses his fins as a bird uses its wings. There are many species
of darters, some of them the most brilliantly colored of any of our
fresh-water fishes. The darters are perch-like in form.
Dr. Jordan says of the breeding habits of the darters: “On the
bottom, among the stones, the female casts her spawn. Neither she
nor the male pays any further attention to it, but in the breeding
season the male is painted in colors as beautiful as those of the
wood warblers. When you go to the brook in the spring you will find
him there, and if you catch him and turn him over on his side you
will see the colors that he shows to his mate, and which observation
shows are most useful in frightening away his younger rivals. But do
not hurt him. Put him back in the brook and let him paint its bottom
with colors of a rainbow, a sunset or a garden of roses. All that can
be done with blue, crimson and green pigments, in fish ornamentation,
you will find in some brook in which the darters live.”
LESSON XLIII
JOHNNY DARTER
_Leading thought_--The johnny darter naturally rests upon the bottom
of the stream where the current is swift. It uses its two pairs of
paired fins somewhat as feet in a way interesting to observe.
_Method_--Johnny darters may be caught in nets with other small fry
and placed in the aquarium. Place one or two of them in individual
aquaria where the pupils may observe them at their leisure. They do
best in running water.
_Observations_--1. Describe or sketch the johnny darter from above.
From the side. Can you see the W-shaped marks along its side? How is
it colored above?
2. How are the pectoral fins placed? Are they large or small? How are
they used in swimming? Where are the ventral fins placed? How are the
ventrals and dorsals used together? When resting on the bottom how
are the pectoral fins used?
3. What is there peculiar about the dorsal fins of the johnny darter?
When he is resting, what is the attitude of the dorsal fins? What is
the difference in shape of the rays of the front and hind dorsal fins?
4. When resting on the bottom of the aquarium how is the body held?
On what does it rest? In moving about the bottom slowly why does it
seem to walk? How does it climb up water weed?
5. When frightened how does it act? Why is it called a darter? What
is the attitude of all the fins when the fish is moving swiftly?
6. What is the shape of the tail?
7. What is there peculiar about the eyes of the johnny? Describe the
eyes and their position. What reason is there in the life of the fish
that makes this position of the eyes advantageous?
8. Where do we find the johnny darters? In what part of the stream do
they live? Are they usually near the surface of the water or at the
bottom?
* * * * *
“_To my mind, the best of all subjects for nature-study is
a brook. It affords studies of many kinds. It is near and
dear to every child. It is an epitome of the nature in which
we live. In miniature, it illustrates the forces which have
shaped much of the earth’s surface. It reflects the sky. It
is kissed by the sun. It is rippled by the wind. The minnows
play in the pools. The soft weeds grow in the shallows. The
grass and the dandelions lie on its sunny banks. The moss and
the fern are sheltered in the nooks. It comes from one knows
not whence; it flows to one knows not whither. It awakens the
desire to explore. It is fraught with mysteries. It typifies
the flood of life. It goes on forever._
_In other words, the reason why the brook is such a perfect
nature-study subject is the fact that it is the central theme
in a scene of life. Living things appeal to children._”
* * * * *
“_Nature-study not only educates, but it educates nature-ward;
and nature is ever our companion, whether we will or no. Even
though we are determined to shut ourselves in an office,
nature sends her messengers. The light, the dark, the moon,
the cloud, the rain, the wind, the falling leaf, the fly, the
bouquet, the bird, the cockroach--they are all ours._
_If one is to be happy, he must be in sympathy with common
things. He must live in harmony with his environment. One
cannot be happy yonder nor tomorrow: he is happy here and now,
or never. Our stock of knowledge of common things should be
great. Few of us can travel. We must know the things at home._
_Nature-love tends toward naturalness, and toward simplicity
of living. It tends country-ward. One word from the fields is
worth two from the city. “God made the country.”_
_I expect, therefore, that much good will come from
nature-study. It ought to revolutionize the school life, for
it is capable of putting new force and enthusiasm into the
school and the child. It is new, and therefore, is called a
fad. A movement is a fad until it succeeds. We shall learn
much, and shall outgrow some of our present notions, but
nature-study has come to stay. It is in much the same stage of
development that manual-training and kindergarten work were
twenty-five years ago. We must take care that it does not
crystallize into science-teaching on the one hand, nor fall
into mere sentimentalism on the other._
_I would again emphasize the importance of obtaining our fact
before we let loose the imagination, for on this point will
largely turn the results--the failure or the success of the
experiment. We must not allow our fancy to run away with us.
If we hitch our wagon to a star, we must ride with mind and
soul and body all alert. When we ride in such a wagon, we must
not forget to put in the tail-board._”
--L. H. BAILEY in THE NATURE-STUDY IDEA.
III. BATRACHIAN STUDY
THE COMMON TOAD
_Teacher’s Story_
“_The toad hopped by us with jolting springs._”--AKERS.
[Illustration: W]
Whoever has not had a pet toad has missed a most entertaining
experience. Toad actions are surprisingly interesting; one of my
safeguards against the blues is the memory of the thoughtful way one
of my pet toads rubbed and patted its stomach with its little hands
after it had swallowed a June-bug. Toads do not make warts upon
attacking hands, neither do they rain down nor are they found in the
bed-rock of quarries; but they do have a most interesting history of
their own, which is not at all legendary, and which is very like a
life with two incarnations.
The mother toad lays her eggs in May and June in ponds, or in the
still pools, along streams; the eggs are laid in long strings of
jellylike substance, and are dropped upon the pond bottom or attached
to water weeds; when first deposited, the jelly is transparent and
the little black eggs can be plainly seen; but after a day or two,
bits of dirt accumulate upon the jelly, obscuring the eggs. At first
the eggs are spherical, like tiny black pills, but as they begin to
develop, they elongate and finally the tadpoles may be seen wriggling
in the jelly mass, which affords them efficient protection. After
four or five days, the tadpoles usually work their way out and swim
away; at this stage, the only way to detect the head, is by the
direction of the tadpole’s progress, since it naturally goes head
first. However, the head soon becomes decidedly larger, although at
first it is not provided with a mouth; it has instead, a V-shaped
elevation where the mouth should be, which forms a sucker secreting
a sticky substance by means of which the tadpole attaches itself to
water weeds, resting head up. When two or three days old, we can
detect little tassels on either side of the throat, which are the
gills by which the little creature breathes; the blood passes through
these gills, and is purified by coming in contact with the air which
is mixed in the water. About ten days later, these gills disappear
beneath a membrane which grows down over them; but they are still
used for breathing, simply having changed position from the outside
to the inside of the throat. The water enters the nostrils to the
mouth, passes through an opening in the throat and flows over the
gills and out through a little opening at the left side of the body;
this opening or breathing-pore, can be easily seen in the larger
tadpoles; and when the left arm develops, it is pushed out through
this convenient orifice.
When about ten days old, the tadpole has developed a small, round
mouth which is constantly in search of something to eat, and at the
same time constantly opening and shutting to take in air for the
gills; the mouth is provided with horny jaws for biting off pieces of
plants. As the tadpole develops, its mouth gets larger and wider and
extends back beneath the eyes, with a truly toadlike expansiveness.
At first, the tadpole’s eyes are even with the surface of the head
and can scarcely be seen, but later they become more prominent and
bulge like the eyes of the adult toad.
[Illustration: _Toad’s eggs._
Photo by Verne Morton.]
The tail of the tadpole is long and flat, surrounded by a fin, thus
making an organ for swimming. It strikes the water, first this side
and then that, making most graceful curves, which seem to originate
near the body and multiply toward the tip of the tail. This movement
propels the tadpole forward, or in any direction. The tail is very
thin when seen from above; and it is amusing to look at a tadpole
from above, and then at the side; it is like squaring a circle.
There is a superstition that tadpoles eat their tails; and in a sense
this is true, because the material that is in the tail is absorbed
into the growing body; but the last thing a right-minded tadpole
would do, would be to bite off its own tail. However, if some other
tadpole should bite off the tail or a growing leg, these organs
conveniently grow anew.
When the tadpole is a month or two old, depending upon the species,
its hind legs begin to show; they first appear as mere buds which
finally push out completely. The feet are long and provided with five
toes, of which the fourth is the longest; the toes are webbed so that
they may be used to help in swimming. Two weeks later the arms begin
to appear, the left one pushing out through the breathing-pore. The
“hands” have four fingers and are not webbed; they are used in the
water for balancing; while the hind legs are used for pushing, as the
tail becomes smaller.
As the tadpole grows older, not only does its tail become shorter but
its actions change. It now comes often to the surface of the water
in order to get more air for its gills, although it lacks the frog
tadpole’s nice adjustment of the growing lungs and the disappearing
gills. At last some fine rainy day, the little creature feels that
it is finally fitted to live the life of a land animal. It may not
be a half inch in length, with big head, attenuated body and stumpy
tail, but it swims to the shore, lifts itself on its front legs,
which are scarcely larger than pins, and walks off, toeing in, with a
very grown up air, and at this moment, the tadpole attains toadship.
Numbers of them come out of the water together, hopping hither and
thither with all of the eagerness and vim of untried youth. It is
when issuing thus in hordes from the water and seen by the ignorant,
that they gain the reputation of being rained down, when they really
were rained up. It is quite impossible for a beginner to detect the
difference between the toad and the frog tadpole; usually those of
the toads are black, while those of the frogs are otherwise colored,
though this is not an invariable distinction. The best way to
distinguish the two is to get the eggs and develop the two families
separately.
The general color of the common American toad is extremely variable.
It may be yellowish-brown, with spots of lighter color, and with
reddish or yellow warts. There are likely to be four irregular spots
of dark color along each side of the middle of the back, and the
under parts are light colored, often somewhat spotted. The throat
of the male toad is black and he is not so bright in color as is
the female. The warts upon the back are glands, which secrete a
substance disagreeable for the animal seeking toad dinners. This is
especially true of the glands in the elongated swelling or wart,
above and just back of the ear, which is called the parotid gland;
these give forth a milky, poisonous substance when the toad is seized
by an enemy, although the snakes do not seem to mind it. Some people
have an idea that the toad is slimy, but this is not true; the skin
is perfectly dry. The toad feels cold to the hand because it is a
cold-blooded animal, which means an animal with blood the temperature
of the surrounding atmosphere; while the blood of the warm-blooded
animal, has a temperature of its own, which it maintains whether the
surrounding air is cold or hot.
[Illustration: _After a hard winter._
Photo by Cyrus Crosby.]
The toad’s face is well worth study; its eyes are elevated and very
pretty, the pupil being oval and the surrounding iris shining like
gold. The toad winks in a wholesale fashion, the eyes being pulled
down into the head; the eyes are provided with nictitating lids,
which rise from below, and are similar to those found in birds. When
a toad is sleeping, its eyes do not bulge but are drawn in, so as
to lie even with the surface of the head. The two tiny nostrils are
black and are easily seen; the ear is a flat, oval spot behind the
eye and a little lower down; in the common species it is not quite
so large as the eye; this is really the ear-drum, since there is no
external ear like ours. The toad’s mouth is wide and its jaws are
horny; it does not need teeth since it swallows its prey whole.
The toad is a jumper, as may be seen from its long, strong hind
legs, the feet of which are also long and strong and armed with five
toes that are somewhat webbed. The “arms” are shorter and there
are four “fingers” to each “hand;” when the toad is resting, its
front feet toe-in, in a comical fashion. If a toad is removed from
an earth or moss garden, and put into a white wash-bowl, in a few
hours it will change to a lighter hue, and vice versa. This is part
of its protective color, making it inconspicuous to the eyes of its
enemy. It prefers to live in cool, damp places, beneath sidewalks or
piazzas, etc., and its warty upper surface resembles the surrounding
earth. If it is disturbed, it will seek to escape by long leaps and
acts frightened; but if very much frightened, it flattens out on the
ground, and looks so nearly like a clod of earth that it may escape
even the keen eyes of its pursuer. When seized by the enemy, it will
sometimes “play possum,” acting as if it were dead; but when actually
in the mouth of the foe, it emits terrified and heart-rending cries.
The toad’s tongue is attached to the lower jaw, at the front edge
of the mouth; it can thus be thrust far out, and since it secretes
a sticky substance over its surface, any insects which it touches
adhere, and are drawn back into the mouth and swallowed. It takes a
quick eye to see this tongue fly out and make its catch. The tadpole
feeds mostly upon vegetable matter, but the toad lives entirely upon
small animals, usually insects; it is not particular as to what kind
of insects; but because of the situations which it haunts, it usually
feeds upon those which are injurious to grass and plants. Indeed, the
toad is really the friend of the gardener and farmer, and has been
most ungratefully treated by those whom it has befriended. If you
doubt that a toad is an animal of judgment, watch it when it finds
an earthworm and set your doubts at rest! It will walk around the
squirming worm, until it can seize it by the head, apparently knowing
well that the horny hooks extending backward from the segments of
the worm, are likely to rasp the throat if swallowed the wrong way.
If the worm prove a too large mouthful, the toad promptly uses its
hands in an amusing fashion to stuff the wriggling morsel down its
throat. When swallowing a large mouthful, it closes its eyes; but
whether this aids the process, or is merely an expression of bliss,
we have not determined. The toad never drinks by taking in water
through the mouth, but absorbs it through the skin; when it wishes to
drink, it stretches itself out in shallow water and thus satisfies
its thirst; it will waste away and die in a short time, if kept in a
dry atmosphere.
The toad burrows in the earth by a method of its own, hard to
describe. It kicks backward with its strong hind legs, and in some
mysterious way, the earth soon covers all excepting its head; then,
if an enemy comes along, back goes the head, the earth caves in
around it, and where is your toad! It remains in its burrow or hiding
place usually during the day, and comes out at night to feed. This
habit is an advantage, because snakes are then safely at home and,
too, there are many more insects to be found at night. The sagacious
toads have discovered that the vicinity of street lights is swarming
with insects, and there they gather in numbers. In winter they
burrow deeply in the ground and go to sleep, remaining dormant until
the warmth of spring awakens them; then, they come out, and the
mother toads seek their native ponds there to lay eggs for the coming
generation. They are excellent swimmers; when swimming rapidly, the
front legs are laid backward along the sides of the body, so as to
offer no resistance to the water; but when moving slowly, the front
legs are used for balancing and for keeping afloat.
The song of the toad is a pleasant, crooning sound, a sort of
gutteral trill; it is made when the throat is puffed out almost
globular, thus forming a vocal sac; the sound is made by the air
drawn in at the nostrils and passed back and forth from the lungs to
the mouth over the vocal chords, the puffed-out throat acting as a
resonator.
The toad has no ribs by which to inflate the chest, and thus draw air
into the lungs, as we do when we breathe; it is obliged to swallow
the air instead and thus force it into the lungs. This movement is
shown in the constant pulsation, in and out, of the membrane of the
throat.
As the toad grows, it sheds its horny skin, which it swallows; as
this process is usually done strictly in private, the ordinary
observer sees it but seldom. One of the toad’s nice common qualities
is its enjoyment in having its back scratched gently.
The toad has many enemies; chief among these is the snake and in only
a lesser degree, crows and also birds of prey.
_Reference_--The Frog Book, Dickerson; Familiar Life in Field and
Forest, Mathews; The Usefulness of the American Toad, U. S. Dept.
Agr., Farmers Bulletin, No. 196.
LESSON XLIV
THE TADPOLE AQUARIUM
_Leading thought_--The children should understand how to make the
tadpoles comfortable and thus be able to rear them.
_Materials_--A tin or agate pan or a deep earthenware wash-bowl.
[Illustration]
_Things to be done_--1. Go to some pond where tadpoles live.
2. Take some of the small stones on the bottom and at the sides
of the pond lifting them very gently so as not to disturb what is
growing on their surface. Place these stones on the bottom of the
pan, building up one side higher than the other, so that the water
will be more shallow on one side than on the other; a stone or two
should project above the water.
3. Take some of the mud and leaves from the bottom of the pond, being
careful not to disturb them and place upon the stones.
4. Take some of the plants found growing under water in the pond and
plant them among the stones.
5. Carry the pan thus prepared back to the schoolhouse and place it
where the sun will not shine directly upon it.
6. Bring a pail of water from the pond and pour it very gently in at
one side of the pan, so as not to disarrange the plants; fill the pan
nearly to the brim.
7. After the mud has settled and the water is perfectly clear, remove
some of the tadpoles, which have hatched in the glass aquarium, and
place in the “pond.” Not more than a dozen should be put in a pan of
this size, since the amount of food and microscopic plants which are
on the stones in the mud, will afford food for only a few tadpoles.
8. Every week add a little more mud from the bottom of the pond
or another stone covered with slime, which is probably some plant
growth. More water from the pond should be added to replace that
evaporated.
9. Care should be taken that the tadpole aquarium be kept where the
sun will not shine directly upon it for any length of time, because
if the water gets too warm the tadpoles will die.
10. Remove the “skin” from one side of a tulip leaf, so as to expose
the pulp of the leaf, and give to the tadpoles every day or two. Bits
of hard-boiled egg should be given now and then.
TOADS’ EGGS AND TADPOLES
_Leading thought_--The toad’s eggs are laid in strings of jelly
in ponds. The eggs hatch into tadpoles which are creatures of the
water, breathing by gills, and swimming with a long fin. The tadpoles
gradually change to toads, which are air-breathing creatures, fitted
for life on dry land.
_Method_--The eggs of toads may be found in almost any pond about the
first of May and may be scraped up from the bottom in a scoop-net.
They should be placed in the aquarium where the children can watch
the stages of development. Soon after they are hatched, a dozen or so
should be selected and placed in the tadpole aquarium and the others
put back into the stream. The children should observe the tadpoles
every day, watching carefully all the changes of structure and habit
which take place. If properly fed, the tadpoles will be ready to
leave the water in July, as tiny toads.
_Observations_--1. Where were the toads’ eggs found and on what date?
Were they attached to anything in the water or were they floating
free? Are the eggs in long strings? Do you find any eggs laid in
jellylike masses? If so, what are they? How can you tell the eggs of
toads from those of frogs?
2. Is the jellylike substance in which the eggs are placed clear or
discolored? What is the shape and the size of the eggs? A little
later how do they look? Do the young tadpoles move about while they
are still in the jelly mass?
3. Describe how the little tadpole works its way out from the jelly
covering. Can you distinguish then which is head and which is tail?
How does it act at first? Where and how does it rest?
4. Can you see with the aid of a lens the little fringes on each
side of the neck? What are these? Do these fringes disappear a
little later? Do they disappear on both sides of the neck at once?
What becomes of them? How does the tadpole breathe? Can you see
the little hole on the left side, through which the water used for
breathing passes?
[Illustration: _Toad development in a single season (1903)._
1–18, Changes and growth from April to November
1–13, Development in 25 to 60 days
9–14, Different sizes, July 30, 1903
15–18, Different sizes, October 21, 1903
10, 11, The same tadpole, 11 is 47 hours older than 10
12, 13, The same tadpole, 13 is 47 hours older than 12
Photo by S. H. Gage.]
5. How does the tail look and how is it used? How long is it in
proportion to the body? Describe the act of swimming.
6. Which pair of legs appears first? How do they look? When they get
a little larger are they used as a help in swimming? Describe the
hind legs and feet.
7. How long after the hind legs appear before the front legs or arms
appear? What happens to the breathing-pore when the left arm is
pushed through?
8. After both pairs of legs are developed what happens to the tail?
What becomes of it?
9. When the tadpole is very young can you see its eyes? How do they
look as it grows older? Do they ever bulge out like toads’ eyes?
10. As the tadpole gains its legs and loses its tail how does it
change in its actions? How does it swim now? Does it come oftener to
the surface? Why?
11. Describe the difference between the front and the hind legs and
the front and the hind feet on the fully grown tadpole. If the tail
or a leg is bitten off by some other creature will it grow again?
LESSON XLV
THE TOAD
_Leading thought_--The toad is colored so that it resembles the
soil and thus escapes the observation of its enemies. It lives in
damp places and eats insects, usually hunting them at night. It has
powerful hind legs and is a vigorous jumper.
_Method_--Make a moss garden in a glass aquarium jar thus: Place some
stones or gravel in the bottom of the jar and cover with moss. Cover
the jar with a wire screen. The moss should be deluged with water
at least once a day and the jar should be placed where the direct
sunlight will not reach it. In this jar, place the toad for study.
_Observations_--1. Describe the general color of the toad above and
below. How does the toad’s back look? Of what use are the warts on
its back?
2. Where is the toad usually found? Does it feel warm or cold to the
hand? Is it slimy or dry? The toad is a cold-blooded animal, what
does this mean?
3. Describe the eyes and explain how their situation is of special
advantage to the toad. Do you think it can see in front and behind
and above all at the same time? Does the bulge of the eyes help in
this? Note the shape and color of the pupil and iris. How does the
toad wink?
4. Find and describe the nostrils. Find and describe the ear. Note
the swelling above and just back of the ear. Do you know the use of
this?
5. What is the shape of the toad’s mouth? Has it any teeth? Is the
toad’s tongue attached to the front or the back part of the mouth?
How is it used to catch insects?
6. Describe the “arms and hands.” How many “fingers” on the “hand?”
Which way do the fingers point when the toad is sitting down?
7. Describe the legs and feet. How many toes are there? What is the
relative length of the toes and how are they connected? What is this
web between the toes for? Why are the hind legs so much larger than
the front legs?
8. Will a toad change color if placed upon different colored objects?
How long does it take it to do this? Of what advantage is this to the
toad?
9. Where does the toad live? When it is disturbed how does it act?
How far can it jump? If very frightened does it flatten out and lie
still? Why is this?
10. At what time does the toad come out to hunt insects? How does it
catch the insect? Does it swallow an earthworm head or tail first?
When swallowing an earthworm or large insect, how does it use its
hands? How does it act when swallowing a large mouthful?
11. How does the toad drink? Where does it remain during the day?
Describe how it burrows into the earth.
12. What happens to the toad in the winter? What does it do in the
spring? Is it a good swimmer? How does it use its legs in swimming?
13. How does the toad look when croaking? What sort of a noise does
it make?
14. Describe the action of the toad’s throat when breathing. Did you
ever see a toad shed its skin?
15. What are the toad’s enemies? How does it act when caught by a
snake? Does it make any noise? Is it swallowed head or tail first?
What means has it of escaping or defending itself from its enemies?
16. How is the toad of great use to the farmer and gardener?
_References_--“The Life History of the Toad,” by S. H. Gage, Cornell
Nature-Study Volume; The Frog Book, Dickerson.
_Supplementary reading_--“K’dunk, the fat one,” A Little Brother to
the Bear, Long.
* * * * *
“_In the early years we are not to teach nature as science,
we are not to teach it primarily for method or for drill: we
are to teach it for loving--and this is nature-study. On these
points I make no compromise._”
--L. H. BAILEY.
THE TREE-FROG, OR TREE-TOAD
_Teacher’s Story_
“_Ere yet the earliest warbler wakes, of coming spring to
tell,
From every marsh a chorus breaks, a choir invisible,
As if the blossoms underground, a breath of utterance
had found._”
--TABB.
[Illustration: A]
Associated with the first songs of robin and bluebird, is the equally
delightful chorus of the spring peepers, yet how infrequently do
most of us see a member of this invisible choir! There are some
creatures which are the quintessence of the slang word “cute” which,
interpreted, means the perfection of Lilliputian proportions,
permeated with undaunted spirit. The chickadee is one of these, and
the tree-frog is another. I confess to a thrill of delight when the
Pickering’s hyla lifts itself on its tiny front feet, twists its head
knowingly, and turns on me the full gaze of its bronze-rimmed eyes.
This is the tiniest froglet of them all, being little more than an
inch long when fully grown; it wears the Greek cross in darker color
upon its back, with some stripes across its long hind legs which join
the pattern on the back when the frog is “shut up,” as the boys say.
[Illustration: _Sitting for their pictures._
_Pickering’s Hyla._
Photo by Cyrus Crosby.]
The reason we see so little of tree-frogs, is because they are
protected from discovery by their color. They have the chameleon
power of changing color to match their background. The Pickering’s
hyla will effect this change in twenty minutes; in this species,
the darker lines forming the cross change first, giving a mottled
appearance which is at once protective. I have taken three of these
peepers, all of them pale yellowish brown with gray markings, and
have placed one upon a fern, one on dark soil and one on the purple
bud of a flower. Within half an hour, each matched its surroundings
so closely, that the casual eye would not detect them. The song of
the Pickering’s hyla is a resonant chirp, very stirring when heard
nearby; it sounds somewhat like the note of a water bird. How such a
small creature can make such a loud noise, is a mystery. The process,
however, may be watched at night by the light of a lamp, as none of
the tree-frogs seem to pay any attention to an artificial light; the
thin membrane beneath the throat swells out until it seems almost
large enough to balloon the little chap off his perch. No wonder
that, with such a sounding-sac, the note is stirring. There are
several species of tree-frogs that trill in the branches above our
heads all summer, and their songs are sometimes mistaken for those of
the cicada, which is far more shrill.
The tree-frogs have toes and fingers ending in little round discs
which secrete at will a substance by means of which they can cling
to vertical surfaces, even to glass. In fact, the way to study these
wonderful feet is when the frog is climbing up the sides of the
glass jar. The fingers are arranged, two short inside ones, a long
one, and another short one outside. The hind feet have three shorter
inside toes quite far apart, a long one at the tip of the foot and a
shorter one outside. When climbing a smooth surface like glass, the
toes are spread wide apart, and there are other little clinging discs
on their lower sides, although not so large as those at the tips. It
is by means of these sticky, disc-like toes that the tree-frogs hold
themselves upon the tree trunks.
The whole body of the tree-frog is covered with little tubercles,
which give it a roughened appearance. The eyes are black with the
iris of reddish color. The tongue is like that of other frogs, hinged
to the front of the lower jaw; it is sticky and can be thrust far out
to capture insects, of which the tree-frogs eat vast numbers.
The hylas breathe by the rapid pulsation of the membrane of the
throat, which makes the whole body tremble. The nostrils are two tiny
holes on either side of the tip of the snout. The ears are a little
below and just behind the eyes, and are in the form of a circular
slit.
[Illustration: _Tree-frog tadpoles._]
The eggs of the spring peepers are laid in ponds during April; each
egg has a little globe of jelly about it and is fastened to a stone
or a water plant. The tadpoles are small and delicate; the under
side of the body is reddish and shines with metallic lustre. These
tadpoles differ from those of other frogs in that they often leave
the water while yet the tail is still quite long. In summer, they
may be found among the leaves and moss around the banks of ponds.
They are indefatigable in hunting for gnats, mosquitoes and ants;
their destruction of mosquitoes, as pollywogs and as grown up frogs,
renders them of great use to us. The voice of this peeper may be
heard among the shrubs and vines or in trees during late summer and
until November. The little creatures sleep beneath moss and leaves
during the winter, waking to give us the earliest news of spring.
LESSON XLVI
THE TREE-FROG OR TREE-TOAD
_Leading thought_--The prettiest part of the spring chorus of the
frog ponds is sung by the tree-frogs. These little frogs have the
tips of their toes specially fitted for climbing up the sides of
trees.
_Method_--Make a moss garden in an aquarium jar or a two-quart can.
Place stones in the bottom and moss at one side, leaving a place
on the other side for a tiny pond of water. In this garden place a
tree-frog and cover the jar with mosquito netting and place in the
shade. The frogs may be found by searching the banks of a pond at
night with a lantern. However, this lesson is usually given when by
accident the tree-frog is discovered. Any species of tree-frog will
do; but the Pickering’s hyla, known everywhere as the spring peeper,
is the most interesting species to study.
_Observations_--1. How large is the tree-frog? What is its color?
Describe the markings.
2. Place the tree-frog on some light-colored surface like a piece of
white blotting paper. Note if it changes color after a half hour.
Later place it upon some dark surface. Note if it changes color
again. How does this power of changing color benefit the tree-frog?
Place a tree-frog on a piece of bark. After a time is it noticeable?
3. Describe the eyes. Note how little the tree-frog turns its head
to see anything behind it. Describe its actions if its attention is
attracted to anything. What color is the pupil? The iris?
4. Note the movement of breathing. Where does this show the most?
Examine the delicate membrane beneath the throat. What has this to do
with the breathing?
5. What is the tree-frog’s note? At what time of day does it peep? At
what time of year? Describe how the frog looks when peeping.
6. How does the tree-frog climb? When it is climbing up a vertical
surface study its toes. How many on the front foot? How are they
arranged? How many toes on the hind foot? Sketch the front and hind
feet. How do the toe-discs look when pressed against the glass? How
does it manage to make the discs cling and then let go? Are there any
more discs on the under side of the toes? Is there a web between the
toes of the hind feet? Of the front feet?
7. Look at a tree-frog very closely and describe its nostrils and its
ears.
8. Are the tree-frogs good jumpers? What is the size and length of
the hind legs as compared with the body?
9. When and where are the eggs of the tree-frog laid? How do they
look?
10. How do the tree-frog tadpoles differ from other tadpoles?
Describe them if you have ever seen them. In what situations do they
live?
11. Of what use are the tree-frogs to us?
_References_--“The Life History of the Toad,” Cornell Nature Study
Volume, S. H. Gage; The Frog Book, Dickerson; Familiar Life of Field
and Forest, Mathews; American Natural History, Hornaday; Elementary
Zoology, V. L. Kellogg; From River Ooze to Tree-top, Sharp.
[Illustration: _Bullfrog._]
THE FROG
_Teacher’s Story_
[Illustration: T]
The stroller along brooksides, is likely to be surprised some day,
at seeing a bit of moss and earth suddenly make a high leap and a
far one, without apparent provocation. An investigation resolves the
clump of moss into a brilliantly green and yellow, striped frog,
and then the stroller wonders how he could have overlooked such an
obvious creature. But the leopard frog is only obvious when it is out
of its environment. The common green frog is quite as well protected
since its color is exactly that of green pools. Most frogs spend
their lives in or about water, and if caught on land, they make great
leaps to reach their native element; the leopard frog and a few other
species sometimes wander far afield.
In form, the frog is more slim than the toad, and is not covered
with great warts; it is cold and slippery to the touch. The frog’s
only chance of escaping its enemies, is through the slipperiness of
its body and by making long, rapid leaps. As a jumper, the frog is
much more powerful than the toad because its hind legs are so much
larger and more muscular, in comparison with its size. The first toe
in the front feet of the leopard frog is much swollen, making a fat
thumb; the mechanics of the hind legs make it possible for the frog
to feather the webbed feet as it swims. On the bottom of the toes
are hardened places at the joints, and sometimes others besides,
which give the foot a strong hold when pushing for the jump. The toe
tips, when they are pressed against the glass, resemble slightly
the tree-toads’ discs. The hind foot is very long, while on the
front foot the toes radiate almost in a circle. The foot and leg
are colored like the back of the body above, and on the under side
resemble the under parts.
The frog is likely to be much more brightly colored than the toad,
and usually has much of green and yellow in its dress. But the frog
lives among green things, while it is to the toad’s advantage to
be the color of the soil. Frogs also have the chameleon power of
changing color, to harmonize with their environment. I have seen
a very green leopard frog change to a slate-gray when placed upon
slate-colored rock. The change took place in the green portions. The
common green frog will likewise change to slate-color, in a similar
situation. A leopard frog changed quickly from dark green to pale
olive, when it was placed in the water after having been on the soil.
The eyes of frogs are very prominent, and are beautiful when observed
closely. The green frog has a dark bronze iris with a gleaming gold
edge around the pupil, and around the outer margin. The eye of the
leopard frog is darker; the iris seems to be black, with specks
of ruddy gold scattered through it, and there is an outer band of
red-gold around the margin. When the frog winks, the nictitating
membrane rises from below and covers the whole eye; and when the frog
makes a special effort of any sort, it has a comical way of drawing
its eyes back into its head. When trying to hide at the bottom of the
aquarium, the leopard species lets the eye-lids fall over the eyes,
so that they do not shine up and attract pursuers.
The ear is in a similar position to that of the toad, and in the
bullfrog, is larger than the eye. In the green frog, it is a dull
grayish disc, almost as large as the eye. In the leopard frog, it is
not so large as the eye, and has a giltish spot at the center.
The nostrils are small and are closed when below the water, as may be
easily seen by a lens. The mouth opens widely, the corners extending
back under the eye. The jaws are horny and are armed with teeth,
which are for the purpose of biting off food rather than for chewing
it. When above water, the throat keeps up a rythmic motion which is
the process of breathing; but when below water this motion ceases.
The food of frogs is largely composed of insects, that frequent damp
places or that live in the water.
The sound-sacs of the frogs, instead of being beneath the throat, as
is the case with toads and tree-frogs, are at the side of the throat;
and when inflated, may extend from just back of the eyes, out above
the front legs. The song is characteristic, and pleasant to listen
to, if not too close by. Perhaps exception should be made to the lay
of the bullfrog, which like the song of some noted opera singers, is
more wonderful than musical; the boom of the bullfrog makes the earth
fairly quake. If we seize the frog by the hind leg, it will usually
croak and thus demonstrate for us, the position of its sound-sacs.
In addition to the snakes, the frogs have inveterate enemies in the
herons which frequent shallow water, and eat them in great numbers.
The frogs hibernate in mud and about ponds, burrowing deep enough to
escape freezing. In the spring, they come up and sing their spring
songs and the mother frogs lay their eggs in masses of jelly on the
bottom of the pond, usually where the water is deeper than in the
situations where the toads’ eggs are laid. The eggs of the two can
always be distinguished, since the toads’ are laid in strings of
jelly, while the frogs’ are laid in masses.
It is amusing to watch with a lens, the frog tadpoles seeking for
their microscopic food along the glass of the aquarium. There are
horny upper and lower jaws, the latter being below and back of the
former. The upper jaw moves back and forth slightly and rythmically,
but the dropping of the lower jaw opens the mouth. There are three
rows of tiny black teeth below the mouth and one row above; at the
sides and below these teeth are little, finger-like fringes. Fringes,
rows of teeth and jaws all work together, up and down, out and in, in
the process of breathing. The nostrils, although minute, are present
in the tadpole in its early stages. The pupil of the eye is almost
circular and the iris is usually yellow or copper-bronze, with black
mottling. The eyes do not wink nor withdraw. The breathing-pore on
the left side, is a hole in a slight protuberance.
At first, the tadpoles of the frogs and toads are very much alike;
but later, most of the frog tadpoles are lighter in color, usually
being olive-green, mottled with specks of black and white. The frog
tadpoles usually remain much longer than the toads in the tadpole
stage, and when finally they change to adults, they are far larger in
size than the toads are, when they attain their jumping legs.
[Illustration: _Frog’s eggs._]
LESSON XLVII
THE FROG
_Leading thought_--The frog lives near or in ponds or streams. It
is a powerful jumper and has a slippery body. Its eggs are laid in
masses of jelly at the bottom of ponds.
_Method_--The frog may be studied in its native situation by the
pupils or it may be brought to the school and placed in an aquarium;
however, to make a frog aquarium there needs to be a stick or stone
projecting above the water, for the frog likes to spend part of the
time entirely out of water or only partially submerged.
_Observations_--1. Where is the frog found? Does it live all its life
in the water? When found on land how and where does it seek to escape?
2. Compare the form of the frog with that of the toad. Describe the
skin, its color and texture. Compare the skin of the two.
3. Describe the colors and markings of the frog on the upper and on
the under side. How do these protect it from observation from above?
From below? How do we usually discover that we are in the vicinity of
a frog?
4. Describe the frog’s ears, eyes, nostrils and mouth.
5. Compare its “hands and feet” with those of the toad. Why the
difference in the hind legs and feet?
6. How does the frog feel to your hand? Is it easy to hold him? How
does this slipperiness of the frog benefit it?
7. On what does the frog feed? What feeds on it? How does it escape
its enemies?
8. What sounds does the frog make? Where are its sound sacs located?
How do they look when they are inflated?
9. Is the frog a good swimmer? Is it a better jumper than the toad?
Why?
10. Where are the frog’s eggs laid? How do they look?
11. Can you tell the frog tadpoles from those of the toad? Which
remains longer in the tadpole stage? Study the frog tadpoles,
following the questions given in Lesson XLIV.
12. What happens to the frog in winter?
* * * * *
_FESTINA LENTE_
_Once on a time there was a pool
Fringed all about with flag-leaves cool
And spotted with cow-lilies garish,
Of frogs and pouts the ancient parish.
Alders the creaking redwings sink on,
Tussocks that house blithe Bob o’ Lincoln,
Hedged round the unassailed seclusion,
Where muskrats piled their cells Carthusian;
And many a moss-embroidered log,
The watering-place of summer frog,
Slept and decayed with patient skill,
As watering-places sometimes will.
Now in this Abbey of Theleme,
Which realized the fairest dream
That ever dozing bull-frog had,
Sunned, on a half-sunk lily pad,
There rose a party with a mission
To mend the polliwog’s condition,
Who notified the selectmen
To call a meeting there and then.
“Some kind of steps,” they said, “are needed;
They don’t come on so fast as we did:
Let’s dock their tails; if that don’t make ’em
Frogs by brevet, the Old One take ’em!
That boy, that came the other day
To dig some flag-root down this way,
His jack-knife left, and ’tis a sign
That Heaven approves of our design:
’Twere wicked not to urge the step on,
When Providence has sent the weapon.”
Old croakers, deacons of the mire,
That led the deep batrachian choir,
“Uk! Uk! Caronk!” with bass that might
Have left Lablache’s out of sight,
Shook nobby heads, and said “No, go!
You’d better let ’em try to grow:
Old Doctor Time is slow, but still
He does know how to make a pill.”
But vain was all their hoarsest bass,
Their old experience out of place,
And spite of croaking and entreating
The vote was carried in marsh-meeting.
“Lord knows,” protest the polliwogs,
“We’re anxious to be grown-up frogs;
But don’t push in to do the work
Of Nature till she prove a shirk;
’Tis not by jumps that she advances,
But wins her way by circumstances;
Pray, wait awhile, until you know
We’re so contrived as not to grow;
Let Nature take her own direction,
And she’ll absorb our imperfection;
You mightn’t like ’em to appear with,
But we must have the things to steer with.”
“No,” piped the party of reform,
“All great results are ta’en by storm;
Fate holds her best gifts till we show
We’ve strength to make her let them go;
The Providence that works in history,
And seems to some folks such a mystery,
Does not creep slowly on, incog.,
But moves by jumps, a mighty frog;
No more reject the Age’s chrism,
Your queues are an anachronism;
No more the future’s promise mock,
But lay your tails upon the block,
Thankful that we the means have voted
To have you thus to frogs promoted.”
The thing was done, the tails were cropped,
And home each philotadpole hopped,
In faith rewarded to exult,
And wait the beautiful result.
Too soon it came; our pool, so long
The theme of patriot bull-frog’s song,
Next day was reeking, fit to smother,
With heads and tails that missed each other,--
Here snoutless tails, there tailless snouts;
The only gainers were the pouts._
_MORAL_
_From lower to the higher next,
Not to the top is Nature’s text;
And embryo Good, to reach full stature,
Absorbs the Evil in its nature._
--LOWELL.
THE NEWT, EFT OR SALAMANDER
_Teacher’s Story_
[Illustration: A]
After a rain in spring or summer, we see these little orange-red
creatures sprawling along roads or woodland paths, and since they are
rarely seen except after rain, the wise people of old, declared they
rained down, which was an easy way for explaining their presence. But
the newts do not rain down, they rain up instead, since if they have
journeys to make they must needs go forth when the ground is wet,
otherwise they would dry up and die. Thus, the newts make a practice
of never going out except when it rains. A closer view of the eft
shows plenty of peculiarities in its appearance to interest us. Its
colors are decidedly gay, the body color being orange, ornamented
with vermilion dots along each side of the back, each red dot
margined with tiny black specks; but the eft is careless about these
decorations and may have more spots on one side than on the other.
Besides these vermilion dots, it is also adorned with black specks
here and there, and especially along its sides, looks as if it had
been peppered. The newt’s greatest beauty lies in its eyes; these are
black, with elongated pupils, almost parallel with the length of the
head, and bordered above and below with bands of golden, shining iris
which give the eyes a fascinating brilliancy. The nostrils are mere
pin-holes in the end of the snout.
The legs and feet look queerly inadequate for such a long body, since
they are short and far apart. There are four toes on the front feet
and five on the hind feet, the latter being decidedly pudgy. The legs
are thinner where they join the body and wider toward the feet. The
eft can move very rapidly with its scant equipment of legs. It has
a misleading way of remaining motionless for a long time and then
darting forward like a flash, its long body falling into graceful
curves as it moves. But it can go very slowly when exploring; it then
places its little hands cautiously and lifts its head as high as its
short arms will allow, in order to take observations. Although it can
see quite well, yet on an unusual surface, like glass, it seems to
feel the way by touching its lower lip to the surface as if to test
it. The tail is flattened at the sides and is used to twine around
objects in time of need; and I am sure it is also used to push the
eft while crawling, for it curves this way and that vigorously, as
the feet progress, and obviously pushes against the ground. Then,
too, the tail is an aid when, by some chance, the eft is turned over
on its back, for with its help, it can right itself speedily. The
eft’s method of walking is interesting; it moves forward one front
foot and then the hind foot on the other side; after a stop for
rest, it begins just where it left off when it again starts on. Its
beautiful eyes seem to serve the newt well indeed, for I find that,
when it sees my face approaching the moss jar, it climbs promptly
over to the other side. There are no eyelids for the golden eyes, but
the eft can pull them back into its head and close the slit after
them, thus making them very safe.
The eft with whose acquaintance I was most favored, was not yet
mature and was afraid of earthworms; but he was very fond of
plant-lice and it was fun to see the little creature stalking them.
A big rose plant-louse would be squirming with satisfaction as it
sucked the juice of the leaf, when the eft would catch sight of it
and become greatly excited, evidently holding his breath since the
pulsating throat would become rigid. There was a particularly alert
attitude of the whole front part of the body and especially of the
eyes and the head; then the neck would stretch out long and thin,
the orange snout approach stealthily within half an inch of the
smug aphid, and then there was a flash as of lightning, something
too swift to see coming out of the eft’s mouth and swooping up the
unsuspecting louse. Then there would be a gulp or two and all would
be over. If the aphid happened to be a big one, the eft made visible
effort to swallow it. Sometimes his eftship would become greatly
excited when he first saw the plant-louse, and he would sneeze and
snort in a very comical way, like a dog, when eager for game.
[Illustration: _Red-spotted newt stalking plant-lice._]
The following is the history of this species as summarized from Mrs.
S. H. Gage’s charming “Story of Little Red Spot.” The egg was laid
in some fresh water pond or the still borders of some stream where
there is a growth of water weed. The egg, which is about the size of
a small pea, is fastened to a water plant. It is covered with a tough
but translucent envelope, and has at the center a little yellowish
globule. In a little less than a month the eft hatches, but it looks
very different from the form with which we are most familiar. It has
gray stripes upon its sides and three tiny bunches of red gills on
each side, just back of its broad head. The tail is long and very
thin, surrounded by a fin; it is an expert swimmer and breathes water
as does a fish. After a time, it becomes greenish above and buff
below, and by the middle of August it develops legs and has changed
its form so that it is able to live upon land; it no longer has gills
or fin; soon the coat changes to the bright orange hue which makes
the little creature so conspicuous.
The newt usually keeps hidden among moss, or under leaves, or in
decaying wood, or other damp and shady places; but after a rain, when
the whole world is damp, it feels confidence enough to go out in
the open, and hunt for food. For two and a half years it lives upon
land and then returns to the water. When this impulse comes upon it,
it may be far from any stream; but it seems to know instinctively
where to go. Soon after it enters the water, it is again transformed
in color, becoming olive-green above and buff below, although it
still retains the red spots along the back, as mementos of its land
life; and it also retains its pepper-like dots. Its tail develops a
fin which extends along its back and is somewhat ruffled. In some
mysterious way it develops the power to again breathe the air which
is mixed with water.
The male has the hind legs very large and flat; the female is lighter
in color and has more delicate and smaller legs. It is here in the
water that the efts find their mates and finish careers which must
have surely been hazardous. During its long and varied life, the
eft often sheds its skin like the snake; it has a strange habit of
swallowing its cast-off coat.
LESSON XLVIII
THE NEWT, EFT, OR “SALAMANDER”
_Leading thought_--The newts change their form three times to fit
different modes of life. They are born in the water and at first have
fins and gills like fishes. They then live on land, and have lungs
for breathing air and lose their fins; later they go back to the
water and again develop the power of breathing the oxygen contained
in water, and also a fin.
[Illustration: _Early stage of vermilion-spotted newt. Eggs of newt
attached to water plant._
Drawn by Anna Stryke.]
_Method_--The little, orange eft or red-spotted salamander may be
kept in an aquarium which has in it an object, as a stone or a clump
of moss which projects above the water. For food it should be given
small earthworms or leaves covered with plant lice. In this way it
may be studied at leisure.
_Observations_--1. Look at the eft closely. Is it all the same color?
How many spots upon its back and what colors are they? Are there
the same number of spots on both sides? Are there any spots or dots
besides these larger ones? How does the eft resemble a toad?
2. Is the head the widest part of the body? Describe the eyes, the
shape and color of the pupil and of the iris. How does the eft wink?
Do you think it can see well?
3. Can you see the nostrils? How does the throat move and why?
4. Are both pairs of legs the same size? How many toes on the front
feet? How many toes on the hind feet? Does the eft toe-in with its
front feet like a toad?
5. Does it move more than one foot at a time when walking? Does it
use the feet on the same side in two consecutive steps? After putting
forward the right front foot what foot follows next? Can it move
backward?
6. Is the tail as long as the head and body together? Is the tail
round or flat at the sides? How is it used to help the eft when
traveling? Does the tail drag or is it lifted, or does it push by
squirming?
7. How does the eft act when startled? Does it examine its
surroundings? Do you think it can see and is afraid of you?
8. Why do we find these creatures only during wet weather? Why do
people think they rain down?
9. What does the eft eat? How does it catch its prey? Does it shed
its skin? How many kinds of efts have you seen?
10. From what kind of egg does the eft hatch? When is this egg laid?
How does it look? On what is it fastened?
11. How many times during its life does the orange eft change color?
What part of its life is spent upon land? What changes take place
in its form when it leaves the water for life upon land, and what
changes take place in its structure when it returns to the water?
IV. REPTILE STUDY
_Yet when a child and barefoot; I more than once, at morn,
Have passed, I thought, a whiplash unbraided in the sun,
When, stooping to secure it, it wrinkled, and was gone._
--EMILY DICKINSON.
[Illustration: I]
If the teacher could bring herself to take as much interest as did
Mother Eve in that “subtile animal,” as the Bible calls the serpent,
she might, through such interest, enter the paradise of the boyish
heart instead of losing a paradise of her own. How many teachers,
who have an aversion for snakes, are obliged to teach small boys
whose pet diversion is capturing these living ribbons and bringing
them into the schoolroom stowed away not too securely in pockets!
In one of the suburban Brooklyn schools, boys of this ilk sought to
frighten their teacher with their weird prisoners. But she was equal
to the occasion, and surprised them by declaring that there were
many interesting things to be studied about snakes, and forthwith
sent to the library for books which discussed these reptiles; and
this was the beginning of a nature-study club of rare efficiency and
enterprise.
There are abroad in the land, many errors concerning snakes. Most
people believe that they are all venomous, which is far from true.
The rattlesnake still holds its own in rocky, mountainous places
and the moccasin haunts the bayous of the southern coast; however,
in most localities, snakes are not only harmless but are beneficial
to the farmer. The superstition that if a snake is killed, its tail
will live until sun-down, is general and has but slender foundation
in the fact that snakes, being lower in their nerve-organization
than mammals, the process of death is a slow one. Some people firmly
believe that snakes spring or jump from the ground to seize their
prey, which is quite false since no snake jumps clear of the ground
as it strikes, nor does it spring from a perfect coil. Nor are snakes
slimy, quite to the contrary, they are covered with perfectly dry
scales. But the most general superstition of all is that, when a
snake thrusts out its tongue, it is an act of animosity; the fact
is, the tongue is a sense organ and is used as an insect uses its
feelers or antennæ, and the act is also supposed to aid the creature
in hearing; thus when a snake thrusts out its tongue, it is simply
trying to find out about its surroundings and what is going on.
Snakes are the only creatures able to swallow objects larger than
themselves. This is rendered possible by the elasticity of the body
walls, and the fact that snakes have an extra bone hinging the upper
to the lower jaw, allowing them to spread widely; the lower jaw
also separates at the middle of its front edge and spreads apart
sidewise. In order to force a creature into a “bag” so manifestly
too small, a special mechanism is needed; the teeth supply this by
pointing backward, and thus assist in the swallowing. The snake moves
by literally walking on the ends of its ribs, which are connected
with the crosswise plates on its lower side; each of these crosswise
plates has the hind edge projecting down so that it can hold to
an object. Thus, the graceful, noiseless progress of the snake,
is brought about by many of these crosswise plates worked by the
movement of the ribs.
Some species of snakes simply chase their prey, striking at it and
catching it in the open mouth, while others, like the black snake,
wind themselves about their victims crushing them to death. Snakes
can live a long time without food; many instances on record show that
they have been able to exist a year or more without anything to eat.
In our northern climate they hibernate in winter, going to sleep as
soon as the weather becomes cold and not waking up until spring. As
snakes grow, they shed their skins; this occurs only two or three
times a year. The crested fly-catcher adorns its nest with these
phantom snakes.
_References_--The Reptile Book, by Ditmars, gives interesting
accounts of our common snakes; Mathew’s Familiar Life of Field and
Forest is also valuable. To add interest to the snake lessons let the
children read “Kaas Hunting” and “Rikki Tikki Tavi” from Kipling’s
Jungle Books.
THE GARTER, OR GARDEN, SNAKE
_Teacher’s Story_
_A chipmunk, or a sudden-whirring quail,
Is startled by my step as on I fare.
A gartersnake across the dusty trail,
Glances and -- is not there._
--RILEY.
[Illustration: G]
Garter snakes can be easily tamed, and are ready to meet friendly
advances half way. A handsome yellow-striped, black garter lived for
four years beneath our piazza and was very friendly and unafraid of
the family. The children of the campus made it frequent visits, and
never seemed to be weary of watching it; but the birds objected to
it very much, although it never attempted to reach their nests in
the vine above. The garter snakes are the most common of all, in our
Northeastern States. They vary much in color; the ground color may be
olive, brown or black, and down the center of the back is usually a
yellow, green or whitish stripe, usually bordered by a darker band of
ground-color. On each side is a similar stripe, but not so brightly
colored; sometimes the middle stripe, and sometimes the side stripes
are broken into spots or absent; the lower side is greenish white or
yellow. When fully grown this snake is about three feet in length.
The garters are likely to congregate in numbers in places favorable
for hibernation, like rocky ledges or stony side-hills. Here each
snake finds a safe crevice, or makes a burrow which sometimes extends
a yard or more under ground. During the warm days of Indian summer,
these winter hermits crawl out in the middle of the day and sun
themselves, retiring again to their hermitages when the air grows
chilly toward night; and when the cold weather arrives, they go to
sleep and do not awaken until the first warm days of spring; then, if
the sun shines hot, they crawl out and bask in its welcome rays.
After the warm weather comes, the snakes scatter to other localities
more favorable for finding food, and thus these hibernating places
are deserted during the summer. The banks of streams, and the edges
of woods are places which furnish snakes their food, which consists
of earthworms, insects, toads, salamanders, frogs, etc. The young are
born late in July and are about six inches long at birth; one mother
may have in her brood from eleven to fifty snakelings; she stays with
them during the fall to protect them, and there are many stories
about the way the young ones run down the mother’s throat in case
of attack; but, as yet, no scientist has seen this act, or placed
it on record. The little snakes shift for their own food, catching
small toads, earthworms and insects. If it finds food in plenty, the
garter snake will mature in one year. Hawks, crows, skunks, weasels
and other predacious animals seem to find the garter snake attractive
food.
[Illustration: _Garter snakes._]
LESSON XLIX
THE GARTER, OR GARDEN, SNAKE
_Leading thought_--The garter snake is a common and harmless little
creature and has many interesting habits which are worth studying.
_Method_--A garter snake may be captured and placed in a box with a
glass cover and thus studied in detail in the schoolroom, but the
lesson should begin with observations made by the children on the
snakes in their native haunts.
_Observations_--1. What are the colors and markings of your garter
snake? Do the stripes extend along the head as well as the body? How
long is it?
2. Describe its eyes, its ears, its nostrils and its mouth.
3. If you disturb it how does it act? Why does it thrust its tongue
out? What shape is its tongue?
4. In what position is the snake when it rests? Can you see how
it moves? Look upon the lower side. Can you see the little plates
extending crosswise? Do you think it moves by moving these plates?
Let it crawl across your hand, and see if you can tell how it moves.
5. What does the garter snake eat? Did you ever see one swallow a
toad? A frog? Did it take it head first or tail first?
6. Where does the garter spend the winter? How early does it appear
in the spring?
7. At what time of year do you see the young snakes? Do the young
ones run down the throat of the mother for safety when attacked? Does
the mother snake defend her young?
8. What enemies has the garter snake?
* * * * *
“_No life in earth or air or sky;
The sunbeams, broken silently,
On the bared rocks around me lie,--_
_Cold rocks with half-warmed lichens scarred,
And scales of moss; and scarce a yard
Away, one long strip, yellow-barred._
_Lost in a cleft! ’Tis but a stride
To reach it, thrust its roots aside,
And lift it on thy stick astride!_
_Yet stay! That moment is thy grace!
For round thee, thrilling air and space,
A chattering terror fills the place!_
_A sound as of dry bones that stir,
In the dead valley! By yon fir
The locust stops its noon-day whir!_
_The wild bird hears; smote with the sound.
As if by bullet brought to ground
On broken wing, dips, wheeling round!_
_The hare, transfixed, with trembling lip,
Halts breathless, on pulsating hip,
And palsied tread, and heels that slip._
_Enough, old friend!--’tis thou. Forget
My heedless foot, nor longer fret
The peace with thy grim castanet!_”
FROM “CROTALUS” (THE RATTLESNAKE), BRET HARTE.
THE MILK SNAKE, OR SPOTTED ADDER
_Teacher’s Story_
_The grass divides as with a comb, a spotted shaft is seen,
And then it closes at your feet, and opens farther on._
--EMILY DICKINSON.
[Illustration: T]