The Minneapolis journal., 1902-07-15

Rodney Blake contribut es paper to
the New York Times on that homely but
useful member 81 the animal kingdom,
the toad, in which he says:
During four years / have been con-
Quoting sort OF toad farm upon small
scale and have discovered some new and
important facts regarding the life, haD-
its and character OF MIR. Toad. If you
were as well acquainted with him as l
am, you could observe him change his
coat and pants. which he does occasional
ly; and, curiously enough, when he takes
Oft his old skin, he rolls 1t into ball
and swallows it..
How He Catches Insects.
Though he carries no jewel in his
head. Mr.. Toad has eyes as bright as
diamonds, and, like other homely crea-
lures, he has many rare virtues. He does
no harm in the world. He may live in
the garden among the most tempting
flowers and berries, but not one will he
pluck or destroy. His tastes do not run
that way. But let a fly, a bug, or
worm show himself within reach, the
dull, stupid toad appears like a new
creature. His eyes glisten with excite
ment, his tongue is shot from his mouth
like a flash, and the insect disappears
down his throat. His tongue Is admirably
contrived for this particular use.
Its base or root is fastened at. the
when at rest pointing down the throat.
]. is covered with a sticky slime, to
which the captured insect adheres, and
then makes rapid journey to the
toad's stomach. If you force a toad's
mouth open and hold 1t in that position
he will suffocate. This is because he has
no ribs and no way of dilating his chest,
therefore must literally swallow air as
though it were food. Forcibly keeping
the creatures mouth open causes the air
to pass into the stomach instead of the
lung.
1t has been ascertained that the toad
lives ten to forty years, does not begin
to produce young until the fourth year,
but then lays over a thousand eggs
year. 1t has lived two years without
food, but cannot live long under water.
It never takes dead or motionless food.
It takes its food by means of it's tongue
alone, and it operates this so rapidly that
the eye canot follow its motions. 1t cap
lures and devours bees, wasps, yellow
jackets, ants, beetles, worms. spiders,
snai1s, bugs, grasshoppers; crickets, wee
wills, caterpillars and moths. The stom-
ach that doesn't finch at yellow jackets,
wasps, blister beetles and click beetles
or pinch bugs would seem to be prepared
for anything in the insect line, and it
doubtless Is.
= The Toad Good Feeder.
+ In twentyfour hours the toad con-
sumes enough food to fill its stomach four
times. A single toad will, In three
months, devour over 10000 insects. IT
every ten Of these would have done 1
cent damage the toad has saved $40. Evi-
IDENTIFY the toad is valuable friend to
the farmer, gardener. and fruit grower,
and can eNnade especially useful In the
greenhouse, garden and berry patch.
There appears to be no serious difficulty
In breeding toads. They lay their eggs
in ponds, and during the early part OF
their lives they are aquatic animals. In
April they emerge from their winter
quarters and make their way to the near
est stagnant pool. At this time they utter
a peculiar shrill cry, which Is their mat
ing call. The females deposit their eggs
in long Shiny ropes, and in three or four
weeks they are hatched. The young tad
poles find satisfactory food in the slime
and algae of the bottom. By July 10 the
- tadpoles have transformed into full
Aedged toads and have abandoned the
water, spreading over the fields. At this
stage of their being they are extremely
sensitive to heat, and secrete themselves
under stones and rubbish during the day.
But let vigorous shower descend and
Immediately the roads and gardens are
peopled with myriads Of them. Hence