NOTES BY THE WAY 



here he makes his headquarters, and passes most of 

 the day. For two years a pair of them frequented 

 an old apple-tree near my house, occasionally sitting 

 at the mouth of a cavity that led into a large branch, 

 but usually their voices were heard from within the 

 cavity itself. On one occasion, while walking in 

 the woods in early May, I heard the voice of a tree- 

 toad but a few yards from me. Cautiously follow- 

 ing up the sound, I decided, after some delay, that 

 it proceeded from the trunk of a small soft maple; 

 the tree was hollow, the entrance to the interior 

 being a few feet from the ground. I could not dis- 

 cover the toad, but was so convinced that it was 

 concealed in the tree, that I stopped up the hole, 

 determined to return with an axe, when I had time, 

 and cut the trunk open. A week elapsed before I 

 again went to the woods, when, on cutting into the 

 cavity of the tree, I found a pair of tree-toads, male 

 and female, and a large, shelless snail. Whether 

 the presence of the snail was accidental, or whether 

 these creatures associated together for some pur- 

 pose, I do not know. The male toad was easily dis- 

 tinguished from the female by its large head, and 

 more thin, slender, and angular body. The female 

 was much the more beautiful, both in form and 

 color. The cavity, which was long and irregular, 

 was evidently their home; it had been nicely cleaned 

 out, and was a snug, safe apartment. 



The finding of the two sexes together, under such 

 161 



