“ Hop-toads ” 
jack is watching an angleworm 
and then the hose is turned on them. At the 
sound of the water the thirsty toads come from 
all directions, and when a hug falls it is instantly 
devoured. 
In the center of the lettuce bed there is a board 
with bricks under it to raise it several inches from 
the ground. The toads seek this shelter, and they 
keep the lettuce free of the slugs that formerly 
spoiled the finest heads. 
A colony of about twenty have their homes under 
the grape vine. Toward night there is a procession 
of toads from that vicinity to the vegetable garden 
where there is better picking. As they hop along 
they “take in” all the insects in sight. in the 
morning they are back under the vine. 
We have placed large plates around the yard and 
filled them with water for the birds. The toads 
were not long in finding out that those plates made 
the finest kind of bath-tubs. It is a common sight 
to see sparrow^s drinking from a plate in which one 
or more toads are sitting. I he little “ beasties ” 
seem to enjoy the w^ater, and splash it over their 
heads with their hind feet. 
Baby toad watching a fly 
1 he toads seek shelter under tlie hoards from tlie hot sun 
They are so tame that we thought it would be an 
easy matter to get some photographs, but we found 
them as elusive as the proverbial flea, “When we 
thought we had him he wasn’t there.” 
In the picture of Jack and Jill, it will be noticed 
that Jack’s colors are quite bright. This is because 
he has just shed his skin. The old skin split and 
he pulled it off with his forelegs. He did not seem 
to enjoy the performance very much. He was 
very quiet for some time previous and the removal 
of the old skin was attended by violent contor¬ 
tions. It seems incredible that there should be so 
much ignorance and superstition in regard to a crea¬ 
ture so useful. 
Every one says “ If you touch a toad you’ll have 
warts ” yet we handle them freely and know them to 
be clean and harmless. They are not the repulsive 
creatures that many believe them to be and some 
are prettily and curiously marked. Their eyes are 
wonderful, of brightest brown, surrounded by what 
looks like a rim of gold. We protect all the “hop¬ 
toads,” and feel that the good they do repays us a 
thousandfold. 
Having a good swim 
89 
