warts on the hands; to poison infants by its breath; to bring good for- 

 tune to the house in whose new-made cellar it takes up its abode; and, 

 finally, to cause bloody milk in cows if killed by accident or design. 

 The writer well recalls the shock his credulity received when in the 

 inquisitive stage of boyhood he faithfully tested several of these super- 

 stitions with only negative results. When so much that is false has 

 been written about the toad it may not be amiss to increase the scanty 

 literature of facts concerning this humble servant of man as deter- 

 mined by a somewhat intimate acquaintance extending over a decade 

 or more. 



LIFE HISTORY AND HABITS. 



To the nature lover there are few more interesting subjects than 

 the development and habits of the toad. In New England toads do 

 not bestir themselves until April or May, but in more southern lati- 

 tudes March finds them wakening from their winter's sleep and begin- 

 ning their annual migration toward the breeding ponds, where a little 

 later is heard the soft, drowsy, musical trilling of the males, so well 

 described by Gibson as the "sweetest sound in nature." The number 

 of toads which migrate even to a small pond is remarkable. The 

 writer once counted 356 toads on the shores of a pond containing 

 scarcely half an acre. Mating is commenced as soon as the water is 

 reached, or even before. The tin}'^ black eggs, with their gelatinous 

 covering, are laid in long " ropes," the envelope swelling to a notable 

 degree as soon as it comes in contact with the water, thus forming a 

 mass many times larger than the body of the parent toad. In two 

 weeks, or even sooner if the water be warm, the eggs hatch and the 

 young tadpoles feed greedil}^ upon the gelatinous envelope. Next the 

 slimy deposits common to ponds are attacked. The tadpoles grow 

 rapidl}^ until by June or Juh^ the legs develop, the tail is absorbed, 

 and the young toads leave the pond which has sheltered them, never 

 to return except for brief visits at the mating season. 



The little toads are very sensitive to heat and secrete themselves 

 under leaves, rubbish, stones, etc., during the daj^; but let a vigorous 

 shower descend and frequently walks, roads, and gardens at once 

 become peopled with these thirsty leaping creatures. So sudden is 

 their appearance under these conditions as to lead to the popular belief 

 that they rain down. The inability of toads to endure heat serves as 

 an indirect protection for them at this stage. They are delectable 

 morsels to many birds, and, were it not for the fact that they are 

 obliged to seek shelter by day, large numbers would be destroyed. 

 As it is, many are devoured by the predaceous birds and mammals 

 which prowl at night. 



It seems probable that the toad does not begin to reproduce until 

 the fourth year. The number of eggs laid by a full-grown female 



