NATURAL HISTORY. 



The following article, issued as a 

 Department of Agriculture Bulletin, 

 should.be interesting to farmers and gar- 

 deners. If the toad can be relieved from 

 persecution it will be a good work. The 

 toad is as useful to the man with a small 

 garden as to the farmer, and increases 

 the comfort of us all by destroying flies, 

 etc. I hope all readers of Recreation 

 will help him. — Editor. 



THE TOAD AS A FRIEND OF THE FARMER. 



Great and beneficent results are often 

 accomplished through very humble agen- 

 cies. Darwin has established the claim 

 of the earthworm to the gratitude of the 

 tiller of the soil, and modern science is 

 revealing thousands of hitherto unseen and 

 unknown agencies working in the inter- 

 ests of man. Science now comes forward 

 to establish what a few have long main- 

 tained, viz., that the ugly and despised toad 

 Is a faithful and efficient servant of the 

 farmer. 



From the earliest times, as a bulletin of 

 the Massachusetts Hatch Station states, 

 the toad has been associated in the popu- 

 lar mind with a host of "vague and lu- 

 dicrous fancies as to its venomous quali- 

 ties, its medicinal virtues, or, most com- 

 monly, the hidden toadstone of priceless 

 value." To these venerable creations of 

 the imagination have been added others 

 equally absurd, such as "that touching 

 toads will produce warts on the hands; 

 that killing toads will produce bloody milk 

 in cows; that a toad's breath will cause 

 convulsions in children; that a toad in <a 

 newly dug well will insure a good and 

 unfailing supply of water, or in a new- 

 made cellar will bring prosperity to the 

 household, etc." This station has made 

 an investigation of the habits, food, and 

 economic value of the American toad 

 which dispels these fallacious ideas, and at 

 the same time establishes the claim of the 

 little animal to our consideration and ap- 

 preciation. 



In New England the toad usually 

 emerges from its hibernating quarters dur- 

 ing the month of April. Cold weather 

 retards its movements, but on warm days 

 at this season the toads may be found on 

 their way to the ponds and stagnant pools, 

 where a little later the characteristic shrill 

 cry may be heard throughout the day and 

 evening. Mating is commenced as soon 

 as the water is reached, or even before, 

 and in a few days the long slimy "ropes" 

 of eggs deposited by the female may be 

 found in the pools. The eggs are nearly 

 black in color and rapidly increase in size. 

 In 2 weeks the young tadpoles are clear- 



ly outlined, and in 3 or 4 weeks the eggs 

 hatch. The vegetable detritus of the pond 

 bottoms and the slime and algae attached 

 to sticks, plants, etc., seem to be the com- 

 mon food of the tadpole. Warm weather 

 favors the growth of the tadpoles, and 

 usually by July 1 to 15 the young toads 

 are fully developed, leave the water and 

 spread over the fields. At this stage they 

 are exceedingly sensitive to heat, and se- 

 crete themselves under leaves, rubbish, 

 stones, etc., during the day; but let a 

 vigorous shower descend and the trans- 

 formation is magical. The walks, roads, 

 and gardens at once become peopled with 

 myriads of these thirsty, leaping creatures, 

 and their sudden appearance has led to 

 the popular belief that they rain down. It 

 is fortunate for them that when young 

 they are unable to endure solar heat, other- 

 wise large numbers would probably be 

 destroyed by the birds which are active 

 during the day; doubtless many are 

 killed by the predaceous birds and mam- 

 mals which prowl by night. 



Many conflicting statements have been 

 made regarding the longevity of the toad, 

 but "there can be but little doubt that 

 toads live to a considerably greater age 

 than is supposed, and we may hazard the 

 opinion that many of them reach an age 

 of at least 10 or 15 years." 



Experiments have been made which 

 "show that it is possible for the toad 

 to exist for a limited time without food, 

 but throw a shadow of improbability upon 

 the stories of those found in rocks, trees, 

 etc." 



When suddenly disturbed or roughly 

 handled the toad ejects a colorless fluid 

 from the anus and a milky liquid from 

 the skin. This habit is probably the basis 

 for the belief that the toad is venomous. 

 The secretion of the skin glands is harm- 

 less when applied to the hands, but it 

 evidently possesses acid properties, since 

 when toads are bitten by dogs or cats the 

 latter usually have a copious flow of saliva, 

 show signs of discomfort, and in some cases 

 coming under the observation of the 

 writer have manifested considerable dis- 

 tress. That this fluid is not objectionable 

 to all animals is apparent from the fact 

 that many hawks, owls, etc., include the 

 toad in their bill of fare. 



The toad sheds its skin 4 or 5 times 

 each year. There is a popular notion 

 that the toad swallows the molted skin, 

 but this was not observed in this study. 



On the approach of cool weather, some- 

 times as early as the 1st of September, 

 toads begin to seek winter quarters. These 

 they find in cellars, under buildings, rocks., 



395 



