178 
NATURE’S CRAFTSMEN 
the creature in winter, “ Mother says I may put 
him in the cellar, if I like. But if I don’t, he will 
know how to shift for himself. Early in the fall 
toads bury themselves deep in the mud, and go 
sound asleep. They say toads are frequently 
found in winter some distance below the surface 
apparently frozen stiff, but, strangely enough, 
they are not dead. They come out well and 
hearty and ready for the next season’s campaign 
as soon as the insects begin to arrive. Toads 
have a real homing instinct. They stay in the 
same garden year after year. One writer men¬ 
tions two toads that have lived in separate door- 
yards, one for twelve and the other for twenty- 
three years respectively.” 
“ I was reading the other day of a live toad be¬ 
ing found imbedded in masonry that was known 
to have been standing a dozen years or more,” 
Auntie observed. “ Is it possible that the little 
creature could have existed dormant so long? ” 
“ Hardly,” returned Father. “ In porous 
stone or moist soil the thing might be possible for 
some months. But no toad, no matter how inured 
to hardship, could long withstand deprivation of 
air, food, and water. Such tales often crop up, 
but seldom is one to be believed. It is a matter 
of history that, in 1777, three toads were imbed¬ 
ded in plaster and placed with the archives of the 
French Academy of Sciences. At the end of 
