NOTES BY THE WAY 145 



voice of the bull - frog, who calls, according to 

 the boys, "jug o' rum," "jug o' rum," "pull the 

 plug," "pull the plug," is not heard much be- 

 fore June. The peepers, the clucking frog, and 

 the bullfrog are the only ones that call in chorus. 

 The most interesting and the most shy and with- 

 drawn of all our frogs and toads is the tree-toad, — 

 the creature that, from the old apple or cherry tree, 

 or red cedar, announces the approach of rain, and 

 baffles your every effort to see or discover him. It 

 has not (as some people imagine) exactly the power 

 of the chameleon to render itself invisible by assum- 

 ing the color of the object it perches upon, but it 

 sits very close and still, and its mottled back, of dif- 

 ferent shades of ashen gray, blends it perfectly with 

 the bark of nearly every tree. The only change 

 in its color I have ever noticed is that it is lighter 

 on a light-colored tree, like the beech or soft maple, 

 and darker on the apple, or cedar, or pine. Then 

 it is usually hidden in some cavity or hollow of the 

 tree, when its voice appears to come from the out- 

 side. 



Most of my observations upon the habits of this 

 creature run counter to the authorities I have been 

 able to consult on the subject. 



In the first place, the tree-toad is nocturnal in 

 its habits, like the common toad. By day it re- 

 mains motionless and concealed; by night it is as 

 alert and active as an owl, feeding and moving 

 about from tree to tree. I have never known one 

 to change its position by day, and never knew one 



