November 6, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



655 



deposit; and (3) post-glacial faults are gen- 

 erally of only a few inches displacement. Pos- 

 sibly the slipping was due to the removal of 

 sand by water running below the surface. 

 Certainly all the evidence militates against 

 the assumption that the digging of the pit 

 could have been the cause. 



Fred. H. Lahee 

 Habvabd Univeesitt 



BUFO FOWLERI (pDTNAM) IN NORTHERN GEORGIA 



In the September issue of Science for 1907, 

 I discussed the range of Fowler's toad to some 

 extent, according to my own observations. An 

 opportunity to spend the spring and summer 

 of 1908 in the counties of Gwinnett and Jack- 

 son in northern Georgia has enabled me to 

 make further observations concerning this in- 

 teresting and apparently little understood 

 toad. 



In this region throughout March I heard 

 the occasional, prolonged trills of the so- 

 considered common toad (Bufo lentiginosus) . 

 By the first of April these notes had become 

 quite silenced, and the distinct chorus of con- 

 gregations of Fowler's toads had begun. I 

 first noticed these toads singing on the eve- 

 ning of March 26, although I think the first 

 singers had appeared somewhat earlier. It 

 was interesting to note that the voices of 

 Fowler's toads were never heard with the ap- 

 pearance of cool, chilly nights, although the 

 trilling of the common toad continued. 

 Throughout the early spring, this contrast in 

 the occurrence of the two notes, with respect 

 to temperature changes, was very marked. 



Fowler's toad in this region of Georgia is 

 an exceedingly abundant species. Through- 

 out the months of April, May and June its 

 droning cries are heard in thousands along 

 certain streams. At this season the females 

 are laying their long, bead-like strings of 

 eggs in the water, attended by hosts of noisy 

 males. Especially during the spawning sea- 

 son, the females seem to be greatly out- 

 numbered by the males. 



During the last week of May, the streams 

 and pools where the eggs had been laid, were 

 alive with tadpoles in different stages of de- 

 velopment. About the middle of June, many 



of these had developed into tiny toads which 

 were hopping along the banks, and in a few 

 days every tadpole had disappeared as if by 

 magic. A few evenings later, there was a 

 noticeable increase in the number of males in 

 voice along this stream. On visiting the 

 locality, I was interested to find the females 

 again laying eggs in great quantities, accom- 

 panied by many males. It would seem from 

 this that these toads may have several well- 

 defined egg-laying periods in a season. 



After the spawning season these toads leave 

 the water and take up quarters in the fields 

 and pastures. During the day they generally 

 remain quiet beneath stones, logs and bunches 

 of grass. I find them very frequently in deep 

 gullies. Here also I have found their eggs 

 in the transient pools following showers. 

 Several times I have found these toads buried 

 to the eyes in sand greatly heated by an in- 

 tense sun. In gullies and banks by the road- 

 sides, the horizontal holes left by the decay of 

 tree-roots, are favorite hiding places for these 

 toads during the day. Several sometimes 

 occupy the same tunnel, and may be seen 

 peering out with expressions evincing serenity 

 and contentment. Fowler's toads are rather 

 inclined to be social in their habits. Last 

 summer, near Hartford, Conn., I noticed a 

 great stone door-step under which fifteen or 

 twenty of these toads had taken up summer 

 quarters. Every evening throughout the sum- 

 mer they would appear, one by one, and hop 

 in a long line, up the walk leading into the 

 fields. 



I find considerable variation in the size, 

 markings and coloration of Fowler's toad. 

 The general coloration varies from a bright 

 reddish brown to a dark grayish brown. 

 Beneath, I have found no markings whatever, 

 in either sex.^ In truth, in this region of 

 Georgia every toad examined was, for this and 

 other reasons, apparently a Fowler's toad. 



The usual note of Fowler's toad is a brief, 

 penetrating, droning scream. Only once have 

 I heard a decided departure from this. I 

 heard this note late in April, in Gwinnett Co., 



' A single small, dark spot in the center of tlie 

 breast of the males is the only marking I have 

 ever observed beneath. 



