ESSEX REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS. 
149 
the young ones hide themselves during the winter ? These 
are a couple of questions often asked, and not yet completely 
answered. 
In Essex the toad spawns from a fortnight to a month later 
than the frog, in waters where both species breed ; but, I am 
convinced, there is a great deal of irregularity about the business 
My toads, kept in a London garden, where they had a “ natural ” 
pond and an abundance of plant cover and animal life, spawned 
much later than truly wild toads observed in Essex. In 1910 
my dates were nth April for the fields, and 23rd April in the 
garden. In 1911 the dates were 10th April for wild toads, and 
20th in the garden ; while in 1912 my toads spawned 32 days 
later than the Essex wildlings, which had already deposited 
eggs on the 20th March. 
Even in the wild state we find toads dropping their eggs on 
the ground before reaching the water, and when this happened 
in the garden, the earthworms fed on the threads—or, at least, 
dragged them far down into their burrows. Toads’ eggs are 
frequently overlooked. Sometimes they resemble strands of 
black worsted, carrying no idea of eggs, and of course quite un¬ 
like frog spawn. One string which I measured was 16 feet long, 
and I estimated that it contained about 4,000 eggs, for I counted 
from 20 to 25 in different inch lengths. 
In 1918, when toads were markedly numerous throughout 
the south-eastern counties, we thought that amongst the reeds 
round the lake at Birch Hall there were at least ten toads actually 
visible for each yard of the bank. The males, of course, 
predominated. We lifted one bunch from the water, finding 
it to consist of no less than twelve adult males surrounding the 
single female ; and other groups which we handled contained 
from ten to three males to each nuclear female. The date this 
year was the 22nd March, but spawn was not seen in this water 
until a couple of days later. 
The voice of the toad is a clear, almost bell-like, “ honk, 
honk ” ; sometimes it sounds like the distant yapping of a 
young puppy; and it is uttered under water as well as in the 
air. The crooning of the frog is nearly over when the toad con¬ 
cert begins. 
In Essex the first toads are seen in mild weather in February. 
Probably they never hibernate under water ; although I have 
