No. 600] SHORTER ARTICLES AND DISCUSSION 761 



Miss Dickerson states that the eggs of Bufo fowleri are often 

 arranged in double rows, but that, so far as known, the eggs of 

 B. americanus are always laid in single strings. If these char- 

 acteristics hold true for the two toads it would appear that the 

 toad with which Gage 12 worked was Bufo fowleri, rather than 

 Bufo lentiginosus americanus. Speaking of the toads with 

 which he worked, Gage states that they lay their eggs from the 

 middle of April until the middle of June, and that the eggs were 

 laid in two strings, one from each oviduct. The lateness of the 

 egg-laying season adds to the probability that Gage worked with 

 B. fowleri rather than with B. americanus. 



From the observations of various observers, it is evident that 

 Bufo fowleri is a widely distributed toad and is extremely 

 abundant in many places from New Hampshire, throughout New 

 Jersey, the District of Columbia, southward at least as far as 

 Gwinnett, Jackson and Hall Counties in northern Georgia. 

 Cope (previously cited) records a specimen of this toad from 

 New Harmony, Posey County, Indiana. He also states that a 

 specimen of the variety B. lentiginosus var. americanus from 

 Nebraska approximates so nearly B. fowleri, that the latter can 

 not be regarded as under all circumstances separate and specific 

 in its rank. 



Miller and Chapin have found that toads taken on the Pali- 

 sades and on the northern end of Manhattan Island sometimes 

 show forms intermediate between B. americanus and B. fowleri. 

 These observers have suggested that such intermediate forms may 

 represent hybrids, but, as they state, it is a question for experi- 

 mental study. 



For a long time the writer has had in mind the question of 

 experimental hybridization between typical forms of B. fowleri 

 and B. americanus. It would be of considerable interest to de- 

 termine whether or not these two toads can be hybridized. 

 Although B. fowleri is more sensitive to lower temperatures than 

 B. americanus, and lays its eggs later in the season, it should 

 not be especially difficult to provide conditions that would bring 

 the mating season of the two toads together under temperature 

 conditions required by B. fowleri. It is very probable that the 

 hibernation period of B. americanus could be prolonged by arti- 

 ficial refrigeration until the mating and egg-laying period of B. 



12 Gage, S. H., "Hibernation, Transformation and Growth of the Com- 

 mon Toad (Bufo lentiginosus americanus)," Ithaca, N. Y., Proc. of Amer. 

 Assoc. for the Advancement of Science, 47: 1898. 



