10 



hands, but it evidently possesses acrid properties, since wlieu toads 

 are bitten by dogs or cats, the latter usually have a copious flow of 

 saliva, show signs of discomfort and in some cases coming under 

 the observation of the writer, have manifested considerable distress. 

 That this fluid is not objectionable to all animals is apparent from 

 the fact that many hawks, owls, etc., include the toad in their bill 

 of fare. Brocchi found that when injected into a blood vessel of a 

 pigeon this fluid caused the death of the bird. 



During the summer months we often find toads of much fresher 

 and brigliter colors than the ir fellows ; this is due to a molting of the 

 skin, a process that takes place four or five times each year. The 

 toad is reported to swallow the molted skin, but this I never have 

 been able to witness. Previous to, and for a few hours after 

 molting, the toad remains quiet in some dark or sheltered place. 



On the approach of cool weather, sometimes as early as the first of 

 September, toads begin to seek winter quarters. These they find in 

 Collars, under buildings, rocks, leaves or rubbish, and in places 

 where the action of frost will not be felt. Cold benumbs them, bnt 

 docs not kill. In March, 1895, the writer found toads under leaves 

 in the Middlesex Fells when the thermometer stood at about 20*^ Fh. 

 These animals were apparently frozen, but after being held in the 

 hand for some time, began to show signs of life. In his work on 

 Reptiles and Birds, Figuier states that these animals freeze without 

 being killed, while Buffon is authority for the statement that in the 

 vicinity of Hudson Bay, frogs are frozen hard during the winter, but 

 revive in the spring. A distinction should be made between the 

 hibernation of mammals where the bodily functions though depressed 

 are still performed and that of amphibians, reptiles, insects, etc., 

 where these functions are apparently entirely suspended. Toads do 

 not hibernate singly as a rule and it is not an uncommon thing to 

 iind in the winter or spring a dozen or more closely packed together 

 under a rock or board or in some other sheltered spot. 



FEEDING HABITS. 



The toad cannot endure high temperatures and hence it is not 

 commonly seen in the day time. Properly speaking, it is a nocturnal 

 animal, though it sometimes ventures out during the day when 

 tempted by an abundance of food in its immediate vicinity or, more 

 commonly, when the air is full of moisture. It is an animal that 

 sufieis from excessive transpiration of moisture from the body, the 



