AMPHIBIA (BATRACHIA) 133 



While the adult toad is primarily a land animal and hibernates in 

 some cavity under ground, usually in groups, it seeks the pools in early 

 spring to spawn as do the rest of its class, laying the eggs in long, 

 easily recognized strings, instead of in masses; 1200-1500 may be laid 

 by a single female. During the breeding season the toad's call may 

 be heard as a pleasant, tremulous trill, lasting usually about 5 or 

 10 seconds. The development is about the same as that of the Ranidse. 

 It is said that sexual maturity is not reached until the fourth year. 

 Much has been conjectured and written about the age to which toads 

 may live but nothing very definite seems to be known; it seems likely 

 that they may live for 20 years or more. Of the familiar stories of 

 toads being found in the centre of rocks little need be said; a little 

 common sense will show the absurdity of supposing an animal could re- 

 main alive during the thousands or millions of years that must have 

 elapsed since such rocks were laid down as sand or mud. A number of 

 actual experiments have been tried to test this oft-repeated tale; toads 

 were buried in cavities in the centre of plaster-of-Paris blocks and in 

 sealed cavities in rocks of various sorts; none of the toads lived more 

 than two years, and while it is surprising to find any animal living so 

 long without food and water, two years is an infinitesimal time com- 

 pared to the age of rocks. The numerous recorded cases of these 

 rock-encased toads are doubtless to be explained as errors of observation 

 or as pure fabrications. 



As has been said the toad feeds largely at night, in towns often col- 

 lecting under the electric lights and eating the insects that fall to the 

 ground in large numbers at such places. Kirkland, who has carefully 

 studied the feeding habits of the common toad, makes some interesting 

 observations. He says the toad's food is about 88 per cent, insects, 

 and 1 6 per cent, of these are cutworms; counting these destructive 

 cutworms alone he estimates the annual saving to the farmer by each 

 toad as nearly 20 dollars. He finds that the toad eats four stomach- 

 fulls every 24 hours; in three months this will amount to about 10,000 

 insects, a majority of which are injurious; slugs, myriapods, etc., are 

 also eaten; in fact any moving animal of suitable size, even stinging 

 bees, are snapped up by the lightning-quick, sticky tongue. By confin- 

 ing a toad in an open box with syrup or other sweet substance to 

 attract insects its methods of feeding may be studied in an interesting 

 way. 



