ii6 BRITISH REPTILES 
Of the changes from the tadpole into the perfect 
frog I do not intend to write ; there are very few 
people who have not seen that for themselves. 
Our common toad, Bufo vulgaris, reaches a large 
size, and I have seen some specimens lately that must 
be the giants of their race. The toad and the frog 
are great helps in destroying insect life, whether it 
be flying, running, or crawling, the toad especially. 
If one is killed after he has been out for a 
night's hunting, the quantity and variety found in the 
creature's stomach will be something to wonder at. 
Bees are a special delicacy to him, and bee-keepers 
show scant mercy if they find the toad near their 
hives. In looking over some beautiful and very 
accurate drawings executed by a Japanese artist, I 
noticed one drawing particularly, which represented a 
couple of toads as bee-catching. If they keep from 
bee-stealing all is well, as they are most useful in a 
garden for clearing off insect pests, but their presence 
near bee-hives is not desirable. 
The creature can be made very familiar, and it 
certainly has the bump of locality very fully developed. 
One that'livedin my wife's flower borders used to come 
out in the evening to the front door-step, and have a 
look at us. After a time, thinking some one might 
open the gate in the dusk and crush him as he was 
