THE FUN OF SEEING THINGS 



35i 



pond at night, and that until they are less sen- 

 sitive must remain secreted during the day- 

 time under stones and chips, in the cracks of 

 board-walks or under the protecting cover of 

 leaves and grasses. But let a rainfall come 

 before they are too widely scattered or their 

 ranks' too greatly thinned, and truly it seems 

 as if the toads must have rained down. For 

 the great warm drops splash down on the 

 boards, and see, there are baby toads just 

 where the raindrops struck. 



"The wet margin of river and pond in early 

 July may be alive with baby toads. When 

 the toads have been out of water for a few- 

 days they are found farther back in the grass'. 

 They congregate in large numbers on sunny 

 brown earth patches. These they match so 

 well in colour, that, as we approach, their 

 simultaneous hopping into the shelter of the 

 grass gives the illusion that the whole patch 

 of earth is moving. 



be the fate of these defenseless creatures. 

 We try to get ten of them all at once into our 

 closed hand. It is no easy task although 

 there is plenty of room. As fast as one little 

 fellow goes in, another hops' out on the other 

 side. But while they hop out of our hands, 

 they themselves hop, without fail, into our 

 hearts. The midgets have such bright eyes, 

 wise expressions, and alert ways, and their 

 legs seem so inadequately small, even 

 for such tiny bodies. We know that if they 

 proceed along sidewalks and roadways, un- 

 avoidable danger comes crashing down upon 

 them, and that if they hunt the mosquitoes 

 and other small insects of the fields and mead- 

 ows, they must meet enemies unnumbered. 

 Among these are snakes, crows, and several 

 hawks and owls, besides ducks and hens. 

 These are enemies not only of young toads, 

 but of the full-grown ones also. The full- 

 grown toads do not eat the young ones. In 



A TOAD HOME IN A HOLLOW TREE. 



"Those that have been out of the water for 

 two or three weeks differ greatly in general 

 appearance from the tiny black things with 

 fragile legs that we see on the wet mud nearer 

 the water. They are one-half inch long, very 

 fat-bodied and show spots of bright red- 

 brown. In six weeks they may measure 

 one inch in length and are correspondingly 

 fat. They may be light orange-brown in gen- 

 eral colour with bright orange on the two 

 large warts behind the eyes and on the under 

 sides of hands and feet. When they are 

 handled they play dead for seconds at a time 

 and finally "'come to life' sticking up their 

 little orange paws in most ridiculous fashion 

 before they tumble over and hop away. 



"We cannot see the army of toads as jt 

 leaves the water without wondering what will 



this they are very different from most of their 

 relatives. For the young toad, the most to be 

 feared among these enemies is perhaps the 

 hungry baby snake, who finds him a most 

 palatable morsel. Probably many of the 

 small toads' succumb also to severe cold or 

 rapid changes of temperature during the win- 

 ter." 



Yes, Spring is Coming. 



It is whispered through all the aisles of 

 the forest that another spring is ap- 

 proaching. The wood mouse listens at 

 the mouth of his burrow, and the chicka- 

 dee passes the news along. — Thoreau. 



