POLICEMEN OF THE GARDEN 
“ Thomas Lane Dayton/” cried Grand¬ 
mother, horrified, “ put down that horrid toad 
this instant! Don’t you know it will make warts 
all over your hands? ” 
“ Nonsense, Mother,” came Uncle John’s voice 
in laughing protest, “ that notion was exploded 
long ago, along with the belief that killing a toad 
on the premises would cause the cows to give 
bloody milk! ” 
“ Why, Grandma,” Tommy laughed, “ times 
have changed, haven’t they? To-day we look 
upon the toad as one of our best friends. He is 
the policeman of the garden, and a prime hand at 
catching, thieves all about the place. It has been 
estimated that in three months the toad gets two 
thousand cutworms. Daddy Thornton says when 
he was a boy his father used to give him a penny 
for every cutworm he found and killed. At this 
rate, our friend, Mr. Toad, is worth better than 
six dollars per month, and he doesn’t stop with 
cutworms. He likes caterpillars, army-worms, 
and thousand-leggers. And he just dotes on 
rose bugs! You should love him for that, surely, 
175 
