AMPHIBIA 317 



work of a species. DifTercnt nionihers of the class may lake 

 different species, and tlie daui obtaincMl slioukl be applied to 

 solvini;- tlir insect jtroljlenis (tf the Incalitv. 



Alnujst all insects come to llu' ground at .sonn- linn-, 

 and we have, especially in the toads, a possilde force of insect 

 police that onu'lil to he better known and utilized. 



Commercial values, 'i'oads arc r(.'gularl,v sold in tin- niarkris ui huruiK-, 

 l)eiiig used I'V gardeners to control insect i)ests.' I> there any local mar- 

 ket for them? Could sucli a market he developed as a result of studies 

 and demonstrations to prove tlieir value? The following' nunihers of 

 insects have l)een eaten by a toa«l at a m»al or were found in a toail's 

 stomach: 00-100 rose beetles (Klh-n M. Foskett): '>'> army worms, 77 

 myriajiods, do gypsy-moth cateri»illars (A. il. I\irklan«l. in three stom- 

 achs): 21 gypsy-moth caterpillars (fourth moh ), taken in ten minuti's 

 (Wilcox); S() house Hies, snapited up in l»'ss than ten minutes (Il«»dge). 

 From examination of 140 stomachs, Kirkhmd- estiuuites that a toa<l will 

 eat, in the three nionths of May, Jun*-, and July (why he docs not in- 

 clude Angust and Septemher is not stated; tlu-se months would add 

 nuiterially to the aceonnt), 'VM2 ants, '2-20S outw.M-nj.s, 1810 niyriapods, 

 2208 sow bugs, 308 weevils, and 308 carahid hectics. Suhtracting the 

 cutworms that might have heen killed hy the caral»i<ls. we have 1088 cut- 

 worms to the toad's credit. He estinuites tlie killing of these as wortli 

 one cent a piece to a gardener, and thus, for cutworms ;tlone, the jw.ssi- 

 hle value of the toad's work is $10. SS for the season. Miller » is nmre 

 conservative and estimates a toad's work for a .season at, possibly, ahout 

 $.") "for greenhonses, gardens, and truck farms" and not so niiicii in 

 ordinary farming districts. 



Frogs, especially hullfrogs, are nuich more iuclin.-d to t'lM-.l uinm ani- 

 mals other than insects — fish, hirds, crawfish, an<l, a»>ove all else, ni>on 

 other frogs. This is tin- great obstacle to frog culture — exc.-pt on pajHT. 

 Xo matter how many we .succeed in bringing through the tadjK.le stage, 

 we have few big frogs in the end. 'I'lie ditlicnlty in f.-.-ding frogs arti- 

 ficially is that they take only active, nn.ving. hmrr livin-. food. It woidd 



1 Kirkland .states (Farmers' JiulUUn A". /•'"', \>. M) that Kn-li.-^h gardmei-s 



pay S2') per hundred. 



2 Kirkland, Hatch ExperinienL Statit.n, liulktin 4ii (181»7). p. I'T. 



3 Miller. " Tlie American Toad,*' Aincrkan Naturalht, Vul. XLIII (1'.hH»), 

 p. 008. 



