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THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. XLIII 



be found sunning himself in the grass. At this time 

 he is sluggish and apparently only waiting for cold 

 weather to put him to sleep. Toads come out of their 

 hidings on rainy days, and, especially, on nights follow- 

 ing rainy days. I counted fifty-two toads in a vacant lot 

 between 7 :00-8 :00 p.m., July 22, after a hard rain in the 

 afternoon. Counts repeated here for the next nine days 

 at the same time in the evening varied between and 16, 

 and most of the times there were less than six toads to be 

 seen. On the twenty-second many of this year's toads 

 were seen, but on the following nine days, scarcely one 

 could be found. In general, throughout the summer the 

 toad passes the day in concealment in damp sheltered 

 places, while the night, the toad's day, is spent in for- 

 aging. 



Some of the toads in the above observation of July 22 

 were shedding their skins, and many appeared to have 

 just done so. This process is frequent and often takes 

 place immediately after the toad comes from its place of 

 concealment. 



The one in experiment IV shed her skin every seventh 

 to eleventh day, or on an average once every 8.2 days 

 from October 23 to April 8. Those in Experiment III 

 did not shed so often nor as regularly; some going as long 

 as four weeks without shedding, unless they did so in 

 their burrows. I have seen some indications that shed- 

 ding is done while the toad remains buried, and the proc- 

 ess may be frequent and regular although the toad re- 

 mains concealed. 



The process is accomplished by pushing the skin for- 

 ward to the neck by the hind feet and then pulling it of? 

 over the head by the fore feet. That on the hind legs 

 and feet is rubbed off against the sides of the body, while 

 that on the fore legs and feet is pulled off by the jaws. 

 The skin is removed from the feet and legs in a manner 

 very similar to that of seizing a glove by the top and turn- 

 ing it wrong side out as it is pulled off. As the skin is 

 raked over the head it is seized by the jaws and swallowed. 

 Previous to the removal of the skin, the new skin secretes 



