The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-11-13

TOads and Bats Make War ON Flies.
Reaches and Mosquitoes.

As a result of experiments with toads
and bats IL has been demonstrated that
house, or even a community, can be
rid OF various troublesome Insects, inciud-
ing flies and mosquitoes. These expert
ments were made by Prof. Clinton r.
Hodge, of Clark university, Worcester,
Mass. Prof. Hodges first experiment
small pen i'm my garden he said, "and
In IT. in a pan of water, installed male
and female toad. To attract food for
them I placed within the Enclosure bits
OF meat and bone. The results were az
satisfactory AS they were unexpected
The toads spent most Of the time sitting
within reaching distance OF the bait and
killing the files attracted by 1t. watch
ed one toad snap up eighty-six house flies
I'm less than ten minutes.
zone day / gathered a quantity of rose
bugs In a tin box and began 10 feed the
bugs 10 a toad. At first l did not count
but finding his appetite so good I started
To count When had counted over eighty
bugs and the toad showed no signs of
wishing 10 conclude his meal picked him
up. Previous TO my beginning 10 count
he had taken anywhere from ten TO TWEEN
~ bugs. / found the toad equally greedy
for rose beetles. canker worms, ants.
caterpiliars. moths. June bugs. weevils.
snails and many other insects. So. too,
in a house. n room may be cleared of
cockroaches by leaving a toad in 1t over
night;
"A single toad may destroy over 2so
worms during the months Of May. June
and July and of these harmless
creatures may well do a gardener service
10 the amount OF Sass each season. and
vet he can raise 1000 worth of toads
at an expense Of not more than 20 cents.
Farmers in England buy them, paying
as high as s2f ii thousand. for use In their
flower beds and gardens. For household
purposes small number Of toads could
be given homes in an aqua riaum At
night the toads could be let loose To kill
bugs while In the day they could kill
flies / have built "a sort al cage or wire
screen a foot wide and two feet long. the
top of which il kept open. II is only
necessary 10 put in two or three toRds.
provide them with shelter, with dish
OF water in one corner, and then keep
them supplied with bits Of raw meat and
any other refuse matter calculated Ia at
tract flies "
In speaking Of the hat Prof. Hodge
said We have no animal more inter
esting and probably nene more valuable.
and certainly none less understood and
more abused than the bat They are
easily tanned absolutely harmless when
EsE}fN tsas48t@i NsAN+ fftSaAr t-fAN eAF ANAstff
as tiny monkeys As destroTeTs of ma rs
~ our most peStiferoUs night flying In
sscts Ike mosquitoes. the bat is almost
ou rso}e dependence. and as ne is known
"a hunt insects afoot SO well as on the
wing he Is also 81 some value for larvae
that 10 not HT-
My attention was turned te the bat
through the sodlin moth. the Insect 90
blame for most woyra-eaten apples. ~
an orchard near nv home / found nine
% the gr1Ibs Of this insect In minute
CHANGING - 60 10 another orchard. hard
II mile away. / found only four # the
s,~1itss in al hours search. There Is ar
old barn near by In which Hive cosely
OF between segeniT-fsTe and lvi bats Tn
owner informed me that his apples wars
atways free from worr1z.--B Bangor Indus
trial Record