The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-03-17
A Chanpeable Toad.

A correspondent of the Philadelphia
Times, writing from Southern California,
saws: We had taken to the bed OF the
mountain stream that in tensof thousands
of years had made the mighty canon. 1t
was filled with huge powders: strewn
and tumbled about in chaotic confusion,
as if stream of rocks had done the work
and water was altogether secondary
consideration. The rocks had been pol
ished by the rush and spray OF years, and
to bound from one to another without
slipping or falling required no little skill;
AS was about to take leap and had
nv gun we'll in hand as help, my com
panion seized me, and in an excited
Whisper told me to look.
"A rattlesnake2" asked, hauling back
and sitting down heavily.
''No," was the reply, given in such
manner that I became convinced that he
saw either grizzly or mountain lion.
s'Don't move" and reaching around,
he hauled out, not weapon, but pocket
microscope, which. with great caution,
he applied to small bump on bowlder
before him.
els that what you are breaking man
all up for2" said I, as the bump became
frog.
is that all2" retorted my friend.
"Why, man, that frog, or treetoad, 1 am
convinced is new species. If should
describe it as Hyla Jonesii you might per-
haps think it of some importance. Why,
look at It'll It's one of the most remark
able examples of protective resemblance
you ever saw"
A close examination of the diminutive
cause of sll this excitement showed that
it was indeed wonderfully protected, and
had almost stepped upon the animal
that. safe in his disguise, had not moved.
At a casual glance the toad would have
been taken for a prominence on the
bowlder, and now that attention was
directed toward it the mimicry seemed
all the more striking, as the animal al
most exactly resembled the stone in color.
The latter was spotted granite peculiar
to the mountains here, the spots being
quite large and pronounced and of If
regular shhpe, evidently deposits of dark
mica, the remainder of the rock being
white or nearly so. This mottled sur
face was reproduced on the toad's back
as if painted, and even the delicate legs,
with their disc-tipped toes, shared the
ornamentation.
"I've seen green tree toads on green
leaves" said my companion, "but this
beats them all. 1t is evidently tree toad
adapted to a life among the powders of
this stream. Now to show you TIE per-
fection of this protection I will start it up
and see what the result will be-"
The toad was forthwith touched with
twig and with q mighty leap landed
upon rock that was nearly white, round
and smooth. We sat down upon neigh
boring bowlder and waited for the change
that nature was to make in the little har-
lequin. In five minutes by the watch
this had taken place. The black spots
that had represented the mica were
rapidly fading out, the other portions
also losing their dark tint. Quickly the
change went on, and in comparatively
short time the spotted toad was of almost
the exact hue as its new base, and as in
conspicuous as it had been before, and
would, as in the former case, have been
passed by as mere prominence upon the
rock. Another touch, and the little
creature sprang upon another bowlder,
from which it was finally driven upon
one almost black Again the curious
change was noticed, dark patches coming
out and the skin assuming the same tint
as it had while on tn" granite. The spots
continued to grow, creasing their di-
ameter until at last they all fused to-
rethcr and the toad became almost black
and equally as inconsplcuous as before.
In an attempt to drive it upon an alder it
finally escaped.