FROGS, TOADS, SALAMANDERS, SNAKES, ETC. 157 



true warts, and the idea that handhng a toad causes warts is 

 wrong. Toads do exude an acrid fluid from the skin which 

 may irritate cuts or scratches on the hands, but it does not 

 cause warts. The excretion is probably a protective device. 

 The skin of the toad is dull colored, so that when it sits on 

 the ground or hes half buried in the ground it resembles the 

 earth so closely as to be diJhcult to 

 see. The movements of the toad 

 are slow and cumbrous as com- 

 pared with the nimble frog's. The 

 toes are webbed, which would in- 

 dicate that the toad, in spite of its 

 land habits, is a swimmer. Pm 33 ^he Toad. 



In the early spring, after coming '■" ""^ ""'"' ="'™'''' 



out of hibernation, the toads assemble for a period in swampy 

 places, where their long, plaintive pipings (from the males 

 only) may be heard. Visit such a place, and the toads will be 

 seen spawning. The females are larger than the males, being 

 full of eggs. The females lay the eggs and the males fertilize 

 them. The eggs are laid in long ropes or strings on the bot- 

 tom of shallow water, and are attached to water plants. 

 Collect some of these eggs and place a few in a dish or vessel 

 of water together with some green aquatic plants. When 

 first laid they are about as large as a pin-head, but the 

 jelly-Hke matrix in which they are imbedded soon absorbs 

 water and swells. The eggs of toads are blacker than those 

 of frogs, as are also the tadpoles or polhwogs. 



The treatment of the tadpoles of the toad should be the 

 same as for frog tadpoles. Their development, which is 

 the same as that of frog tadpoles, only more rapid (about 

 two months), should be observed by the children. As the 



