292 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [June, 
illustrates the danger of drawing conclusions from scanty experi- 
menting, for stomach examinations show Julus to be a favorite food 
with toads. A. H. Kirkland says in his valuable paper on the 
economic value of the toad:!* ‘“Myriapods form a constant article 
of diet for the toad. Species of the genus Julus were present in the 
majority of the stomachs examined, the largest number found in a 
single stomach being seventy-seven. These creatures form 10 per 
cent. of the food for the season.” 
Mr. Kirkland’s examinations of stomachs serve to check another 
set of experiments which is claimed to show that squash bugs (Anasa 
tristis) are seldom eaten by toads. The account of these experiments 
by C. M. Weed and Albert F. Conradi is as follows: 
“The common toad has been generally considered an enemy of 
the squash bug, being frequently referred to in this connectjon in 
articles concerning the pest. We made a large number of observa- 
tions on this phase of the subject, the most interesting result being 
the discovery that the odor given off by the bugs will actually kill 
toads if confined in a small open vessel, such as a wide-mouthed 
bottle. Some of these experiments as recorded in a published letter 
by Mr. Conradi are as follows:'!® When a squash-bug nymph of the 
fifth stage was suddenly introduced into a half-pint, open, wide- 
mouthed bottle containing a half-grown, live toad, so that the 
batrachian, would get the full effects of the pungent fumes secreted 
by the bug, the toad was thrown into a temporary stupor, the effect 
being similar to that of chloroform. As the number of bugs was 
increased, the effect on the toad was increased. When as many as 
seven bugs were introduced, the toad fell into a profound stupor, from 
the effects of which it died in the course of twenty-four hours. 
“On September 8, an adult toad that had been kept in the labora- 
tory vivarium with a scant food supply for several days, was placed 
in a quart jar of the same construction as the one mentioned above, 
and eight bugs were introduced; these bugs, however, had been so 
much disturbed previously that the source of the pungent secretion 
had been temporarily exhausted. The toad hesitatingly devoured 
three, after which she would remove with her front feet every speci- 
men that made an attempt to ascend the wall of her enclosure; but 
these bugs were not eaten. The toad was then transferred to another 
jar of the same size and construction, and eight bugs were suddenly 
14 Bul. 46, Hatch Exp. Sta., 1897, p. 15. 
15 Science, N. S., Vol. XIV, No. 360, November 22, 1901, pp. 816,817. See 
also Science, N.S., Vol, XIX, No. 479, March 4, 1904, pp. 393, 394. 
