Curiosities of natural history / by Francis T. Buckland.

  • Francis Trevelyan Buckland
Date:
1903
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Curiosities of natural history / by Francis T. Buckland. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    45/466 (page 15)
    In some places, from their making this peculiar noise, they have been called ‘Dutch nightingales.’ In Scot- land, too, they have a curious name, Paddock, or Puddick ; but there is poetical authority for it:—- ‘The water-snake whom fish and paddocks feed, With staring scales lies poisoned.’—Dryden. Returning from the University of Giessen, I brought with me about a dozen green tree-frogs, which I had caught in the woods near the town. The Germans call them Laub Frosch, or leaf-frog; they are most difficult things to find, on account of their colour so much re- sembling the leaves on which they live. I have fre- quently heard one singing in a small bush, and though I have searched carefully, have not been able to find him ; the only way is to remain quite quiet till he again begins his song. After much ambush-work, at length I collected a dozen frogs and put them in a bottle. I started at night on my homeward journey by the diligence, and I put the bottle containing the frogs into the pocket inside the diligence. My fellow-passengers were sleepy old smoke-dried Germans; very little conversation took place, and after the first mile every one settled himself to sleep, and soon all were snoring. I suddenly awoke with a start, and found all the sleepers had been roused at the same moment. On their sleepy faces were depicted fear and anger. What had woke us all up so suddenly ? The morning was just breaking, and my frogs, though in the dark pocket of the coach, had found it out; and, with one accord, all twelve of them had begun their morning song. As if at a given signal, they one and all of them began to croak as loud as ever they could. The noise their united concert made seemed, in the closed com- partment of the coach, quite deafening: well might the