182 Life and Immortality 
to chronicle the event, the obstreperous insect is pushed into 
the stomach. 
Some curious myths are told of the toad. One says he 
can live for hundreds of years encased in clay or in stone. 
No more true of Bufo is this than of Rana, his cousin. 
Another asserts that his skin, when handled, is productive 
of warts, and that the fluid he emits, which serves but to 
moisten his body, for without moisture he could certainly 
not live, and to protect him from enemies, is poisonous in 
character. His power to produce warts, we cannot admit. 
But that the fluid he exudes, if not poisonous to touch, is 
offensive to animals, there can be no doubt. Weare led tothis 
conclusion from the following considerations: Dogs, young 
animals especially, are prone to attack the toad, but they 
never want to repeat their experience. The toad’s exuda- 
tion so affects the salivary glands of the dog as to cause him 
to froth and foam like an animal with rabies. A case is 
recalled where a dog, that had taken a toad in his mouth, 
became almost frantic. This dog never afterwards was well. 
His whole system apparently had become diseased, and, in 
less than a year, he had wasted to a complete skeleton, when 
death relieved him of his sufferings. Another allegation, 
that the toad has a jewel in his head, has been believed from 
very ancient times. The story doubtlessly originated from 
the beauty of the toad’s eyes, the irides being a rich flame- 
color, which, in the dusk of the even, shine like burnished 
gems. 
When hatched the young of the toad are of a jet black 
color, and are very active. Their changes are made very 
early and in the same manner as those of the frog. They are 
quite small when arrived at the perfect toad state. Their 
legs produced and their tails absorbed, they quit the water 
and set out on long journeys. Unlike the frog, which is a 
home-stayer, the toad is a born vagrant. They travel chiefly 
by night, hiding under stones and herbage during the day. 
If clouds cover the sky, they take heart and joyously hop 
