168 INJURIOUS INSECTS OF 1904. 



useful work of feeding almost entirely upon insects and allied 

 forms, and the number of insects which they consume, as^ adults, 

 is almost incredible. Some excellent work done by A. H. Kirk- 

 land, of the United States Department of Agriculture, and pub- 

 lished in Farmer's Bulletin No. 196 (which is practically a reprint 

 of his work published as Bulletin No. 46 of the Hatch Experiment 

 Station), brings to light the startling fact that in twenty-four hours 

 the insect food consumed equals in quantity four times the capacity 

 of the toad's stomach. In other words, the stomach is practically 

 filled and emptied four times in each twenty-four hours. Mr. Kirk- 

 land states further that 149 stomachs examined by the Depart- 

 ment during the months of April, May, June, July, August and 

 September showed 19 per cent of ants, 16 per cent of cut worms, 

 10 per cent of thousand-legged worms, 9 per cent of tent caterpil- 

 lars, 8 per cent of ground beetles and other close allies, 6 per cent 

 of May beetles and allies, 5 per cent of wire worm beetles and 

 allies, 5 per cent of destructive weevils, 3 per cent of miscellaneous 

 caterpillars, 3 per cent of grasshoppers and crickets, 2 per cent of 

 spiders, 2 per cent of sow bugs, i per cent of potato beetles, i per 

 cent of carrion or burying beetles, i per cent of miscellaneous 

 beetles, i per cent of snails, i per cent of angle worms, i per cent 

 each of vegetable matter and gravel probably taken in with the 

 insects, and 5 per cent of unidentified animal matter. 



In considering the value of the toad as shown by this work, we 

 must remember that ants, while not directly injurious to the agri- 

 culturist, are a pest to the housekeeper, sometimes injure lawns, 

 and always encourage by their assiduous devotion and attention 

 destructive plant lice. The toad makes a fine showing in the above 

 percentages on cut worms. The thousand-legged worms eat into 

 fruit when off the tree; the injurious qualities of the tent caterpil- 

 lar we are well aware of, and we also know that but one or two 

 birds will touch them on account of their disagreeable covering of 

 hairs. Ground" beetles are, for the most part, beneficial, but May 

 beetles or June bugs, as they are sometimes called, of which the 

 above toads ate six per cent as compared with the rest of their 

 food, we all know are most destructive upon lawns, strawberry 



