]2 



has for some time occupied the sheltered space under the piazza of 

 his house and that each summer night at about eight o'clock, they 

 sally forth down the walk, cross the street and take up their sta- 

 tions under an arc lamp that is located about three rods from the 

 house. Here they remain and feed upon the fallen insects until the 

 electric current is turned off, when they return to their accustomed 

 shelter. 



Duiing the past two years the writer has made many observations 

 on toads feeding under natural conditions at all hours of the night. 

 From these observations and from stomach examinations it appears 

 that the toad feeds continuously throughout the night, except when 

 food is unusually abundant. In twenty-four hours the amount of 

 food consumed is equal in bulk to about four times the stomach 

 capacity. In other words, the toad's stomach is practically filled 

 and emptied four times in twenty-four hours. This I have verified 

 by studies on toads confined in cages. 



TIIK FOOD OF THE TOAD. 



To establish the economic status of an insectivorous animal two 

 methods of procedure are available : First, observation of the feed- 

 ing habits ; second, stomach examination. Field observations are 

 of higli importance as affording correlative and supplementary 

 evidence, but stomach examinations, as Professor Beal has so aptly 

 put it, constitute '• the court of final appeal." Good eyesight, 

 patience and strategy will enable one lo watch the feeding of insec- 

 tivorous animals, but identification of insects cannot be madeatlong 

 range and the material devoured, must be available for careful 

 study. A " slaughter of the innocents " can never be approached 

 with feelings other than those of regret, yet there are occasions 

 where the end justifies the means and this would seem to be the case 

 where investigations are being made in the field of nature with a 

 view of contributing to the sum total of human knowledge. In the 

 investigations on the food of the toad, stomachs were obtained from 

 different parts of the state and more particularly from different kinds 

 of localities, /. e.,' fields, gardens, marshes, plains, hills, woodlands, 

 etc., during every month of the season of the toad's activity. In 

 this manner one hundred and forty-nine stomachs were collected and 

 examined. This number, the writer fully appreciates, is too small 

 to show the exact status of the toatl in tliis region, yet it is sutlirient 

 to afford data for some general coiiclusioiis. In iu>arlv evcrv case 



