NATURE STUDY IN SCHOOLS. 123 



The female frog is larger than the male. . Frogs sometimes live from 

 twenty to twenty-five years. In the spring the male frog does all the sing- 

 ing. 



LESSON ON TOADS IN AN EIGHTH GRADE, 

 GLINES SCHOOL, SOMERVILLE, MASS. 



BY 



M. Eva Warren. 



Toads, by George L. Thurlow. 



The toad, one of the most interesting and useful animals, breeds in the 

 water. The eggs are laid in two strings, which if extended, would reach a dis- 

 tance of ninety feet, which contain from eight to ten thousand eggs. The eggs 

 are not all hatched, however. If they were, the country would be swarming 

 with toads which would be as bad as the plague of Egypt. 



Fishes eat many of the eggs and the frogs and toads eat others, so that 

 they are exposed to many dangers. 



The tadpole when hatched, has a round head and a small tail. Its de- 

 velopment is about the same as the development of a frog tadpole. 



The differences between the frog a ad toad are mainly these ; while the 

 skin of a frog is smooth and even, that of the toad is very rough and is 

 covered with warts. The frog gets over the ground by taking long jumps, 

 while the toad either walks or takes short hops. The reason for this is that 

 the frog has long hind legs while the toad has short ones. 



You have quite likely seen toads hopping and lying in the dusty street. 

 The reason for this I will explain to you. The toad has just moulted and 

 is in the street to get his new suit dusty so that he will not be conspicuous. 

 (In this way he doesn't resemble people very much. ) This is the manner in 

 which the toad moults. His skin cracks up and down the center of his back. 

 With his two front legs he draws it off over his head in the same manner 

 as you would draw off your sweater. Then with first one front and then 

 the other he takes the skin off each front leg, and finally, sitting on the 

 ground, he pulls off first the skin on one hind leg and then the other- 



The color of the toad is a ground color, making it hard to distinguish 

 him from the ground. Celia Thaxter, the noted writer, was very fond of the 

 sea. So she built a house on an island and went there to reside. She was 

 fond of flowers and tried to have a garden, but the grubs were so numerous 

 that every new attempt was followed with failure. Finally she sent to a 

 friend to send her some toads. A box came one day and she opened it ex- 

 pecting to see a great many, when to her surprise she saw only three sorry 



