TITUS 



5822 



TOAD 



father (see page 1496), built a set of magnifi- 

 cent baths, and restored many ancient build- 

 ings then falling into ruin. He died in the 

 third year of his reign. 



Arch of Titus, a Roman arch of triumph 

 built by the Emperor Domitian in the year 81, 



THE ARCH OF TITUS 



to commemorate the capture of Jerusalem by 

 Titus. It stands on the Sacred Way, facing the 

 Forum. The inner side of the arch is decorated 

 with reliefs depicting the exploits of Titus, and 

 showing the spoils taken from the Temple. 



TITUS, an associate of Paul, and, so far as is 

 known, the first Christian missionary of purely 

 Greek birth. He was brought by the Apostle, 

 probably from Antioch, to the council held at 

 Jerusalem to consider how far Gent;le converts 

 should be required to conform to Jewish rites, 

 and was excused from circumcision by the de- 

 cision of that body. He was regarded by Paul 

 with great affection and accompanied him on 

 many of his journeys, succeeding him on his 

 death in the oversight of the churches of Crete. 



The Epistle to Titus is of the same author- 

 ship and general contents as the Epistles to 

 Timothy. See TIMOTHY. 



TOAD, tohd, a cold-blooded animal resem- 

 bling the frog, living in damp and shady places 

 in fields and gardens. As one of the greediest 

 eaters of grubs and insects, it is a valuable ally 

 of the farmer and the gardener. The body of 

 the toad is thicker and more bulky than that of 

 the frog, and its movements are slower and 

 more clumsy. Unlike the frog, it has no teeth. 

 Its rough, warty skin is the color of the ground 

 on which it lives, and this similarity is a means 

 of protection against its foes. The skin con- 



tains glands which secrete a milky fluid, disa- 

 greeable to other animals seeking it as prey. 

 Frogs and toads belong to the tailless amphibi- 

 ans. 



Although "ugly and venomous," the toad 

 "wears yet a precious jewel in his head." In 

 these words Shakespeare described the animal's 

 glittering, golden eyes, which when open pro- 

 trude prominently. They are provided with 



THE TOAD'S TONGUE 



Showing the movement of the tongue in catch- 

 ing an insect. This organ is fastened at front 

 instead of at the back, and can be extended fully 

 two inches in an exceedingly rapid movement. Its 

 surface is sticky. 



lids which rise from below like those of birds. 

 When the toad is asleep the eyes are drawn in 

 and lie even with the surface of the head. The 

 toad has no ribs to aid in inflating the lungs, 

 and is obliged to swallow the air instead. An- 

 other curious thing about this animal is the way 

 in which it "drinks," not through its mouth, 

 but by absorbing the water through its skin. 



Toads sleep through the winter in burrows 

 in the ground, emerging in the early spring. 

 They migrate to the nearest pond, where they 

 lay their eggs. These are about the size of a 

 pinhead, and are bound together in long strands 

 of a transparent, jellylike substance. The small, 

 flat tadpole is hatched in from two to four 

 weeks, and attains adult size in about two 

 months. The development of the tadpole is 

 shown in the illustration on next page. The 



THE TOAD 



outer skin of a toad is molted several times a 

 year, and on each occasion it is swallowed. 



It is not likely that toads will ever become 

 too numerous, for they have many natural ene- 

 mies. The tadpoles are the prey of newts, 

 water beetles and fish, and the toads are eaten 

 by snakes, hawks, crows and owls. 



