The American Toad 



be pressed down into the mouth as far below its roof as they rise 

 above the head, and the movement aids effectually in swallowing. 

 If the farmer could see, he would surely smile with satisfaction, 

 for this May beetle is the mother of the white grubs that feed on 

 roots and underground stems, and so ruin his pasture and spoil his 

 potato crop. 



It is not beneath the dignity of the toad to sit and feast on the 

 plant-lice that live on the lettuce. He swallows any spiders 

 he may catch. He may sit in one place for a long time and eat 

 the ants that are about an ant-hill or that gather on a decaying 

 apple or pear. He loiters about the roots of the corn and attacks 

 the cutworms as they come out from their day hiding-places and 

 start to climb to the leaves they devour at night. 



The dusk changes to night, but as long as there is any light, 

 the toad can see. His eyes are large and placed on the very top 

 of his head. The golden iris contracts more and more, the pupil 

 becomes correspondingly larger until the eye seems a great black 

 hole in the toad's head. He can see nothing when it is totally 

 dark, but there is usually enough light to see moving objects. He 

 can see the tent caterpillars (Fig. 56) that have left their silken 

 homes on the apple or cherry tree and are hurrying over the ground 

 to find sheltered spots in which to build cocoons. He can see the 

 caterpillar of the mourning-cloak butterfly (Fig. 55) on a similar 

 search, and swallows it, spiny coat and all. He has no difficulty 

 in spying out the white-marked tussock caterpillars that are 

 changing their feeding-grounds from rose bush to snowball or 

 honeysuckle. (Fig. 54.) He does not seem to mind in the least if 

 a caterpillar is thickly set with hairs; in fact, small one-year-old 

 toads will seize and greedily eat the common hairy caterpillars. 

 Click beetles that have been in hiding all day are often captured. 

 This would surely rejoice the heart of the farmer, if only he could 

 see; for the young of these are the much-fought wireworms J that 

 damage the growing vegetables and grains. 



The following statistics are valuable not only in that they 

 introduce us to the real worth of the toad, but also because they are 

 accurate, being the results of scientific investigation of the matter. 2 



family Elaterids 



2 A. H. Kirkland. "Habits, Food, and Economic Value of the American Toad." Bulletin, 

 46, Hatch Experiment Station, Amherst, Mass. 



83 



