The  RURAL.  NEW-YORKER 
142': 
Nature  Notes 
When  Toads  Sing 
I  wish  you  would  send  the  inclosed  to 
Prof.  Herrick  and  ask  for  comments.  I 
presume  the  article  is  correct,  but  how 
many  times  I  have  seen  what  I  called 
frogs  trilling,  and  I  confess  my  surprise 
when  I  read  that  it  was  our  friend  the 
toad.  F.  c.  CURTIS. 
Mr.  Curtis  sends  a  clipping  containing 
a  letter  in  which  a  correspondent  refers 
to  a  former  statement  about  frogs  that 
sing.  Part  of  this  letter  follows,  and  the 
statement  is  by  Prof.  G.  W.  Herrick  : 
In  this  letter  he  says :  “By  the  way,  I 
wonder  how  many  of  your  readers  have 
ever  seen  the  frogs  warble  their  evening 
songs.” 
Well,  the  truth  of  the  matter  is  that 
he  nor  any  other  person  has  ever  seen 
a  frog  sing.  Our  common  frogs  or  the 
hylas  have  only  the  well  known  “peep ! 
peep !  peep !”  This  is  the  Spring  call. 
At  all  other  times  frogs  “croak.” 
In  the  breeding  time  in  Spring,  how¬ 
ever,  our  common  garden  toad  repairs 
to  the  water,  wherein  to  lay  its  eggs. 
It  is  well  known  to  those  of  us  who  have 
lived  in  the  country  that  the  toad  is 
possessed  of  an  air  bag  under  the  lower 
jaw  capable  of  distension  and  his  love 
song  is  a  most  pronounced,  continuous 
trill ;  a  sound  which  will  hold  your  at¬ 
tention  as  different  from  the  notes  of  the 
frog  as  the  honk  of  the  motor  car  differs 
from  the  song  of  a  canary  bird. 
ARE  FROGS  ’OR  TOADS  MUSICAL? 
Father  Tabb  says: 
“Ere  yet  the  earliest  warbler  wakes, 
of  coming  Spring  to  tell. 
From  every  marsh  a  chorus  breaks,  a 
choir  invisible, 
As  if  the  blossoms  under  ground,  a 
breath  of  utterance  had  found.” 
“Evidently  to  the  ear  of  the  poet  the 
peeping  of  frogs  as  they  herald  the  Spring, 
is  musical.  A  noted  authority  on  nature 
study  says,  “There  are  several  species  of 
the  tree-frogs  that  trill  in  the  branches 
above  our  heads  all  Summer,  and  their 
songs  are  sometimes  mistaken  for  those 
of  the  cicada,  which  is  far  more  shrill.” 
The  same  author  says  of  the  common 
striped  green  frog  of  the  brooksides :  “The 
song  is  characteristic,  and  pleasant  to 
listen  to,  if  not  too  close  by.”  It  ap¬ 
parently  depends  upon  how  one’s  ear  is 
attuned  as  to  whether  the  noises  emitted 
by  frogs  are  musical  or  not.” 
To  my  ear,  our  common  frogs,  the 
leopard  frog,  wood  frog,  pickerel  frog, 
and  bullfrog  make  noises  which  can  best 
be  described  as  a  series  of  croaks,  vary¬ 
ing  in  pitch  and  volume  with  the  dif¬ 
ferent  species.  The  little  tree-frog  (Ilyin 
rersicolar) ,  however,  makes  a  very  loud 
piercing  trill  from  the  trees  in  which  it 
is  hidden,  the  song  to  which  the  nature- 
study  authority  referred  to  as  resembling 
the  song  of  the  cicada. 
The  toad,  most  people  agree,  makes  a 
high,  long-sustained  tremulous  sound 
which  some  call  musical.  One  author 
speaks  of  it  as  a  “pleasant,  croon” 
sound,  a  sort  of  gutteral  trill.”  and  this 
describes  it  as  nearly,  perhaps,  os  any 
words  can  do.  I  think  we  shall  have  to 
agree  with  II.  E.  L.  that  of  the  frogs  and 
toads  the  common  warty  toad  comes  the 
nearest  to  being  a  songster  of  any  of 
these  amphibious  animals,  although  I 
should  hardly  class  it  as  a  prima  donna 
even  among  the  lower  animals. 
GI.ENN  W.  IIERRICK. 
Frogs  in  a  Well 
I  have  made  a  cement  platform  over  my 
dug  well,  so  nothing  can  get  into  it. 
There  are  frogs  in  it  now,  and  I  would 
like  to  know  what  I  can  put  in  it  to  kill 
the  frogs  and  then  pump  and  clean  it 
out.  Every  Summer  some  of  them  die, 
so  we  cannot  use  the  water.  m.  f. 
Bath,  N.  Y. 
I  know  of  nothing  that  you  can  put 
into  the  well  lo  kill  the  frogs  that  would 
not  also  make  the  water  unfit  for  use. 
Why  not  get  rid  of  the  frogs  when  you 
pump  out  and  clean  the  well  and  then 
prevent  others  from  gaining  access  bv 
making  the  upper  few  feet  of  the  well 
curbing  frog-tight?  If  you  do  not  wish 
to  re-lay  this  curbing,  which  I  presume 
is  a  loose  stone  one,  you  can  dig  a  trench 
about  the  outside  to  the  desired  depth  and 
then  fill  this  with  concrete,  thus  sealing 
the  curbing  on  the  outside.  A  dug  well 
should  have  the  upper  few  feet  of  the 
curbing  made  water  and  vermin-tight,  as 
well  as  a  water-tight  cover.  This  helps 
materially  in  preventing  pollution  from 
surface  water.  In  addition,  if  practicable, 
the  ground  should  be  graded  away  from 
the  mouth  of  the  well.  M.  b.  d. 
That  Unusual  Bird 
Th  bird  Airs.  M.  E.  A.  describes  on 
page  1043  is  a  flicker,  alias  highholder. 
yellow  shaft,  etc.,  and  not  the  great 
crested  fly-catcher.  The  flicker  belongs 
to  the  woodpecker  family.  G.  H.  b. 
Pennsylvania. 
Economical  Transportation 
Every  Farm  Needs  Two 
EVERY  farm  needs  two 
automobiles,  one  of 
which  should  be  a  closed 
model  Chevrolet. 
The  open  touring  car  is  best 
for  general  farm  use,  carry¬ 
ing  passengers  or  perhaps 
miscellaneous  bulky  pro¬ 
duce  or  merchandise,  but 
for  cold  or  rainy  weather, 
and  for  church  or  social  use 
the  family  needs  a  closed  car, 
either  a  2-passenger  Utility 
Coupe,  as  illustrated,  or  the 
5-passenger  Sedan.  The 
extra  large  rear  compart¬ 
ment  is  a  feature  of  the 
Coupe. 
These  closed  cars  are  very 
finely  made,  furnished,  up¬ 
holstered  and  trimmed.  The 
windows  are  of  plate  glass 
and  can  be  lowered,  provid¬ 
ing  as  much  air  as  an  open 
car,  yet  affording  full  pro¬ 
tection  against  wind,  rain, 
snow  or  cold  when  raised. 
With  a  second  car  on  a  farm, 
one  is  always  available  for 
those  at  home  when  the 
other  car  is  out. 
The  low  prices  of  Chevrolet 
make  the  ownership  of  two 
cars  feasible  for  most  farm 
families. 
CHEVROLET  MOTOR  COMPANY 
Division  of  Qeneral  Motors  Corporation 
DETROIT,  MICHIGAN 
Prices  Effective  September  1,  1923  f .  o.  b. 
*  Flint,  Michigan 
Superior  2-Pass.  Roadster . $490 
Superior  5-Pass.  Touring . 495 
Superior  2-Pass.  Utility  Coupe  ....  640 
Superior  5-Pass.  Sedan . 795 
Superior  Commercial  Chassis  .....  395 
Superior  Light  Delivery  ......  495 
Utility  Express  Truck  Chassis  .....  550 
Five  United  States  manufacturing  plants, 
seven  assembly  plants  and  two  Canadian 
plants  give  us  the  largest  production  capac - 
ity  in  the  world  for  high-grade  cars  and 
make  possible  our  low  prices. 
Dealers  and  Service  Stations  Everywhere 
