22 OHIO EXPERIMENT STATION: BULLETIN 198. 



by the destruction of the eggs and young of valuable birds, also of 

 young rabbits and young shrews whenever opportunity offers. We 

 can spare the rabbits without much, if any loss, and on the whole, 

 the skunk deserves protection. 



Woodchucks; These are vegetable feeders, living on garden 

 products, fruits and tender pasture' grass. They are, generally 

 speaking, injurious, and possess no specially beneficial traits. They 

 may be caught in strong steel traps or killed by a charge of buck- 

 shot from a close, hard-shooting gun. The skin is very thick and 

 tough and it is useless to attempt to kill them with small shot, or 

 a light load. 



A large wad of rags or of cotton may be saturated with bisulfid 

 of carbon and pushed into the animal's burrow, the opening being 

 closed with a stone or chunk of wood, over which loose earth is 

 shoveled to shut in the fumes. All openings to the burrow, except 

 the one used for fumigating, should be closed before the gas is used. 

 It requires only a few minutes of fumigation to kill the woodchuck 

 in the burrow. 



The Toad: The toad is a very valuable friend, especially to the 

 gardener. Toads live for several years and by preference remain 

 on the same feeding grounds from year to year. About 98 percent 

 of the toad's food consists of animal matter. Among the forms 

 regularly eaten are angle worms, snails, sowbugs, thousand-legged 

 worms, spiders, ants, grasshoppers, crickets, cutworms, beetles 

 and various caterpillars. From 60 to 80 percent of injurious insects 

 and a small percent of beneficial insects go in with its customary 

 ration. The stomach is filled and emptied about four times in each 

 24 hours. Upon the basis of stomach examinations, it has been 

 estimated that during the 90-day period extending over May, June 

 and July, a grown toad will consume 2160 cutworms, 1800 myria- 

 pods or thousand-legged worms, 2160 sowbugs, 3240 ants, 360 

 weevils, and 360 ground beetles, the last being beneficial insects. 

 The sum total, therefore, for the 90 days, is 360 beneficial insects 

 and 9720 injurious ones destroyed. Mr. A. H. Kirkland, who made 

 the foregoing computations, observes that children are often paid 

 one cent for each cutworm they kill, and that on this basis, after 

 allowing ten percent deduction from the total number consumed, to 

 offset the probable number that would have been killed by the 

 devoured ground beetles, we still have 1944 cutworms to the toad's 

 credit, or in money value it is worth $19.44 in 3 months time. Eng- 

 lish and French gardeners appreciate the value of toads and as high 

 as $25 per hundred is said to be often paid for them. Owing to the 

 dislike of the creatures for new and unfamiliar surroundings, it is 

 advisable in many cases to provide a breeding pool for them in order 



