Page:British Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fresh-water Fishes.djvu/48

BRITISH AMPHIBIANS of a host of very minute but active amœbocytes—little creatures who comprise the very simplest form of life. These set to, and by dint of sheer unremitting toil the labour is at last accomplished.

"But tragedy crowns the efforts; the amœbocytes have so overwrought themselves that they die actually of overwork, and with the sudden stoppage of their labour death supervenes—no profiteering, no unemployment benefit, no old-age pension, no retirement of ease, not even thanks from the beneficiary, for these hardy workers."

If an army of young Frogs or Toads is encountered at the time they have just vacated their hatching quarters, and they are on the march, a wonderful sight is presented. Many, like their human prototypes, fall by the way, a prey to the numerous enemies that beset them, for, let it be said, a young Frog, just fresh from its life in a pond, is too tempting a morsel for birds and other wild creatures to pass over. Many, too, get crushed under foot, especially by motor traffic, as these Frog armies have a distinct liking for crossing roads during the great marches upon which they engage. Whither are they travelling? What instinct is it within them that prompts this perilous, but uncontrollable desire to press forward? Curious, that in after days, when they have reached the adult state, some of these little amphibians return to the same pond they left in days gone by. They return, of course, for breeding purposes, and have an unfailinng habit of returning to the same pond year after year. Social in 32