Bufonidse 



toad from many enemies. Watch the dog's behaviour towards 

 toads that have taken up their residence in the garden or about the 

 house. He either gives them a wide berth or simply teases them, 

 being careful not to take them into his mouth. A young dog 

 may bite a toad, but the experience is likely to prove so disagreeable 

 that he does not repeat it. The irritating secretion is not poured 

 out at all unless the toad is in severe pain. This fluid can do no 

 injury to man, unless it gets into the mouth or eyes. 1 



The toad has been greatly maligned by stories of its poisonous 

 effects on man and man's belongings. Instead of bringing ill luck, 

 the gentle fellow is one of our great blessings. The toad has come 

 to our gardens and to the very doors of our houses because he can 

 get an abundance of food there; also, because as one of man's 

 domestic animals, he escapes some of his natural enemies. As for 

 man, he may well look upon the toad at his door as a good fairy 

 somewhat in disguise, we must admit. In fact, we might let the 

 toad remain wrapped in the veil of magic that the superstition of 

 past ages put upon him, but change the import of the magic to 

 good instead of evil. 



That the toad is the gardener's ally has been proved beyond 

 a doubt. 2 The economic value of the toad has been recognised in 

 this country as well as in others. For many years, gardeners in 

 France have been glad to buy toads in order to have them as 

 insect-destroyers. 



The toad remains quietly sleeping through the greater part of 

 the day, thereby keeping himself from being a nuisance and also 

 saving himself from the danger of being stepped upon. But at 

 sunset, or often earlier than that, he comes out from his bed under 

 porch or shrubbery and starts on his regular tour over lawns and 

 through gardens. 



The hunt is an exciting one, for the toad eats living, moving 



1 I have seen it naturally exuded but once in the several years of my observation of the 

 American toad. This secretion has no power to produce warts. See p. 16. 



2 We are just finding out how many allies man has in his work of tilling the soil. We know 

 now that birds of many sorts are of infinite value. Rose-breasted grosbeaks will keep a field cleaned 

 of " potato-bugs." Kingbirds eat so many grasshoppers that they save a large share of the hay har- 

 vest. Bob-whites and even crows are of great value in destroying cutworms. 



And humbler even than these, the insects cross-pollinate flowers, making possible fruits of all 

 kinds and seeds for new crops and new varieties of economic plants. 



The earthworms actually plough the ground, slowly but certainly converting sterile into fertile 

 land. Even the bacteria of the soil can be used by man to increase his crops greatly. (" Bacteria 

 and the Nitrogen Problem." Geo. T. Moore. Reprint from Yearbook of Department of Agri- 

 culture for 1902.) The farmer need not work alone; he has at his command a whole army of helpers. 



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