INSECT HUNTERS 185 



afford to sympathise with the insects. In spite of the 

 high mortahty of the hexapod tribes, they flourish 

 Hke the green bay-tree. So prohfic are they that, 

 notwithstanding the fact that milhons are daily des- 

 troyed by their foes, the life of human beings in India 

 becomes a burden on account of the creeping things. 

 In the monsoon the insects tax man almost to the 

 limits of his endurance — they teaze, bite, and worry 

 his person, they destroy his worldly goods, and, not 

 content with this, find their way into his food and 

 drink. For this reason I feel very kindly disposed to 

 the frogs, the hzards, and the fly-catching birds. 



It is worth coming to India if only to see a frog or 

 toad at work. Go at sunset, during a break in the rains, 

 on to the chahutra, and place a lamp near you. Thou- 

 sands of insects of all shapes and sizes are attracted 

 by the light. In their wake come the toads. A toad 

 always looks hlasL His stupid appearance and sluggish 

 movements give him this air. Watch him as he hops 

 into the zone of light. He advances to within an inch 

 of a resting insect, and, before you can say " Jack 

 Robinson," the creature has flown into his mouth ! 

 The toad takes another hop, and a second insect 

 follows the example of the first ; then another and 

 another ! Have the insects all suddenly gone mad ? 

 Are they bewitched, mesmerised by the ugly face of 

 the toad ? Nothing of the kind. The insects have 

 not jumped into the amphibian's mouth at all. The 

 toad has a long tongue attached at the front end to 

 its mouth. This tongue is covered with sticky saliva 

 and is capable of being protruded and retracted with 



