170 



a toad. Evidentlj' she kuew that flight wsls useless and, as a place of cou- 

 cealment was not at hand at that late moment, her safety lay in protec- 

 tive coloration and in resembling a toad as little as possible. 



April 20th I placed a male of the same species in the aquarium, think- 

 ing she would lay her eggs, but she would have absolutely nothing to do 

 with him. As there seemed to be no likelihood of further development I 

 changed them to a small park which I had prepared in a sunny part of 

 the yard. It was inainly composed of sod, but in one corner was an area 

 of soft earth, while in the center was a large pan of water. Here they 

 mated at once and spent the greater part of two days hopping about, rest- 

 ing part of the time in the water. May 12th they buried themselves com- 

 pletely in the soft dirt to await the passing of a cold wave. When the 

 cold wave had passed they emerged and the mating ceased without the 

 deposition of eggs. 



Among the things the toad was observed to eat during her captivity 

 were ants, flies, grasshoppers, bees, wasps and many other insects which 

 found their way within her reach. The eating of bees and wasps was fol- 

 lowed by no ill effects except a momentary twisting or wincing. By far 

 the greater part of her food consisted of flies and ants. These are house- 

 hold pests, and since the toad will average 40 or more each day it is need- 

 less to say that it is a veiy useful animal and one that should be protected. 



The Methods and Extent of the Illinois Ichthyological 



Survey. 



By Thomas Large. 



At the present time the Natural History Survey of the Illinois State 

 Laboratory of Natural History is working on an extensive report on the 

 Fishes of Illinois. This is a continuation of the work begun in 1878 and 

 carried on with many interruptions since that time by Prof. S. A. Forbes 

 and his collaborators. It is the purpose to have every fish known to occur 

 within the State accurately described, with complete statement of all that 

 is known concerning food, habits and breeding, and to have the geographi- 

 cal distribution indicated on maps. In addition to this it is the purpose to 

 illustrate each species with colored plates reproduced from water-color 



