Card of the Day - 2024-07-29

hignett life in pond stream
Hignett Bros & Co. [tobacco : UK - Liverpool] "Life in Pond and Stream" (1925) 9/25 - H536-300 : H44-36

This gives us the "Cycle" part of our clue, the "life-cycle" -  or, as it says on the card, the "Life History" - of the Common Frog. And indeed it is a cycle, for the frogs lay eggs, which hatch, change, and turn into frogs - and at the age of just two or three they are ready to lay eggs of their own. 

It is a much similar story for us, except that we take longer about it, and have far less progeny, though that is simply because we have less predators than do they. It is estimated that just one in fifty of those eggs will make it out of the pond to breathe on land

This is a very interesting set which includes all kind of life to be found in and around the water, beetles, fish, a water vole, reptiles and amphibians. It would be treasured by collectors of wildlife and gardening cards and yet it seems little known. 

Sadly, it is not one of the sets which were also issued by Ogden`s, so we cannot add any details of its manufacture. It was also too early for any cartophilic magazines, so all we have is the cataloguing in the World Tobacco Issues Index, namely : 

LIFE IN POND & STREAM. Sm. Nd. (25) ... H44-36

This is identical in our updated version, except for the code.