128 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [15:4^Apr., 1910 



Other insects. One toad in three summer months would eat 

 10,000 insects. They feed mostly at night, though they never 

 scorn an additional meal in the daytime. Soon after sundown, 

 they start on their hunt. They follow more or less of a regular 

 beat and come back again to their accustomed resting places. 

 Two toads that have been watched for a long time, have been said 

 to live in the same dooryards, one twelve years, the other twenty- 

 three years. It is likely that many toads live ten or twelve years. 

 Toads are fond of sitting under electric road lights, for they have 

 learned that these attract great numbers of insects which are 

 stunned by the light and fall to the ground to be quickly snapped 

 up by the waiting toads. It is quite a surprise to see the expectant 

 toad throw out his tongue which is fastened at the front end, and 

 see its sticky surface fasten to the fly and carry it back into his 

 mouth. When he gets a big "June bug," it is fun to see him close 

 his eyes as he tries to swallow it. When he closes his eyes like that, 

 he can press them down on the inside and help crowd that big hard 

 shelled beetle down his throat. 



Very few of our animal friends work as hard for the benefit of 

 mankind as do the toads. Few others are as worthy of our friend- 

 ship and kindly consideration, and yet I fear few others are as 

 scornfully looked upon by most of us. As we know them better, 

 we enjoy them more. The tadpoles in our ponds eat much that 

 might otherwise cause us trouble. They work busily in cleaning 

 a skeleton, or eating a dead fish, or devotiring the algae that grow 

 so rankly in a stagnant pool. We cannot speak too highly in favor 

 of the adult toad. He eats almost no insects that could benefit us, 

 and eats instead vast quantities of those that would become trouble- 

 some pests. It would pay us all for selfish reasons alone to be- 

 friend the toad, but in addition we have the pleasure of watching 

 its interesting habits. 



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