FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 



283 



borne upon the legs (insects) or the tail ; that 

 they may be deeply sunk in the body and 

 yet have no inlets for the vibrations of the 

 sonorous medium (many aquatic animals). 

 It is well that we should know of animals 

 with two tails or with two bodies perma- 

 nently united ; of other animals developed 

 within a larva which lives for a considerable 

 time after the adult has detached itself 

 (some starfishes and nemertines) ; of animals 

 which lay two or three kinds of eggs; of 

 eggs which produce two (an earthworm) or 

 even eight embryos apiece ; of males which 

 live parasitically on the female, or even un- 

 dergo their transformations, as many as 

 eighteen at a time, in her gullet; and of 

 female animals which are mere bags of eggs. 

 The more the naturalist knows of such 

 strange deviations from the familiar course 

 of things the better will he be prepared to 

 reason about what he sees, and the safer 

 will he be against the perversions of hasty 

 conjecture. 



The Life of the Toad. — From a study of 

 the toad, by Mr. A. H. Kirkland, we learn 

 that in this region it usually emerges from 

 its hibernating quarters during April. Cold 

 weather retards its movements, but on warm 

 days in the spring the toads make their 

 way to the ponds and stagnant pools. Mat- 

 ing is begun as soon as the water is reached, 

 or even before, and in a few days the long 

 slimy " ropes " of eggs deposited by the fe- 

 male may be found in the pools. The eggs 

 are nearly black, and rapidly increase in size. 

 In two weeks the young tadpoles are clearly 

 outlined, and in three or four weeks the eggs 

 hatch. The vegetable detritus of the pond 

 bottoms and the slime and algrc attached to 

 sticks, planks, etc., seem to be the common 

 food of the tadpole. Warm weather favors 

 the growth of the tadpoles, and usually the 

 young toads are fully developed, leave the 

 water, and spread over the fields. At this 

 stage they are extremely sensitive to heat, 

 and secrete themselves under leaves, stones, 

 rubbish, etc., during the day; but after a 

 hard shower they come out by thousands. 

 Observations of the toad's feeding show that 

 eleven per cent of its food is composed of 

 insects and spiders beneficial or indirectly 

 helpful to man, and eighty per cent of in- 

 sects and other animals directly injurious to 



cultivated crops or in other ways obnoxious 

 to man. Their stomachs can accommodate 

 enormous quantities of food, and one will 

 consume in twenty- four hours an amount 

 equal to that required to fill the stomach 

 four times. It is estimated that in one sea- 

 son a toad might destroy cutworms which 

 would otherwise have damaged crops to the 

 extent of $19.88. The toad thus renders 

 conspicuous service to farmers, and garden- 

 ers and greenhouse owners could make it of 

 special use. As there are laws for the pro- 

 tection of insectivorous birds, why should 

 there not be as stringent legislation against 

 the destruction of toads ? If merit of serv- 

 ice rendered to man be the standard by 

 w*hich legislation is determined, the toad 

 presents a record which will compare favor- 

 ably with that of any insectivorous bird. 



Magnitude of Mexican Ruins. — Of the 



ruins of ancient cities in Mexico which Mr. 

 W. H. Holmes has examined and described 

 in his publications respecting them in a 

 comprehensive scientific manner, none, per- 

 haps, are more remarkable and extensive as 

 a whole than those near the city of Oaxaca. 

 Many of the important works here are found 

 on mountain tops, " and one soon comes to 

 recognize the notched profiles of the ridges 

 and peaks that border the valley as being 

 due to the strangely directed enterprise of 

 the ancient inhabitants. The feeling of sur- 

 prise induced by this discovery is followed 

 by one of amazement as the real nature of 

 the work dawns upon the mind. As the ex- 

 plorer climbs the slopes and picks his way 

 from summit to summit, he is fairly dazed 

 by the vast array of pyramids and terraces, 

 which not only crown the heights, but over- 

 spread the steep slopes, destroying traces of 

 natural contour and making the mountains 

 actual works of art." Climbing one of the 

 larger pyramids of the group on the summit 

 of Monte Alban, the author obtained a mag- 

 nificent panorama of the mountain and the 

 surrounding valleys and ranges. "Turning 

 to the north, the view along the crest was 

 bewildering in the extreme. The crest 

 of Alban, one fourth of a mile wide and ex- 

 tending nearly a mile to the north, lay spread 

 out at my feet. The surface was not covered 

 with scattered and obscure piles of ruins, as 

 I had expected, but the whole mountain had 



