The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1907-05-17

while in this world is enshrouded like
many of his personal attributes, in
mystery. It has been said that toads
have been found in midst Of solid
rocks alive, ready to hop out full
grown, armed and equipped, even as
Minerva sprang from the head of
Jove, having been there perhaps,
thousands of years, Or having had no
birth or beginning at all, just came
down through tho centuries, "ugly
and venomenous, wears yet a precious
jewel in his head" Now Mr.. Kirk
land points out that it is no such
thing. Tlore is no such jewel in the
toad's head in the first place, and no
toad within the range Of his expert
enee and investigations has ever
been found shut up in rock for q
thousand years. On the contrary he
points out that once a French ento-
mologist imbedded three toads in
placter and placed them in the ar
chives Of the French Academy of
Science. He also tells Of other toads
shut alp III stand stone and lime
stone. The toads died in a short
time, though they lived perhaps lon-
ger than any other animal known
would have lived under similar cir
cumstances.
Mr.. Kirkland evidently poked
sticks mt the tails of toads when he
was a little boy, and he tells us with
some evidently memory Of his early
happy days of how Gin Southern lat
l,Wles March finds them wakened :
from their winter sleep and begin i
ninE their annual migration toward |
the breeding points, where a little lat
rr is heard the soft drowsy musical !
trllling Of the males SO we'll describ- |
rd by Gibson rs 'thc sweetest song
III nature.
Another thing Mr.. kirkland wants
and that is that the toad
is not venomous. At least, it is not |
vcnomous to the human skin ana
the exhibitions from It's skin of a cor
tain milky acrid fluid, does not harm
the human hands, though it does very
much discomfort dog who tries to
bite the toad. Therefore, a dog does
not bother a toad.
Now there are all sorts Of other
things told us abont toads by Mr.,
kirkland, all sorts Of interesting
things. But where he comes to the
defence of the toai-where he comes
|" the defence Of himself for spend
ing so much time on this toad bust
ness and putting the government to
the expense of printing and circulat-
ing Il bulletin on the subjcct-is when
ne tells what the toad eats. The toad
frog is quite much of an eater. He
eats bugs and beetles, worms, ants,
catepil}ars, grasshoppers, spiders
and good many other things, espc-
clally destructive things. In other
words, the toad frog earns his right
I" live in this world, and to hop and
I" rxudc this mysterious, acrid fluid
from his skin, by eating up other
animals which are dangerous to hu-
man life and health or destructive to
The toad frog particular
~ likes thouSand-legged worms. Mr..
says that one toad frog has
been known to eat II thousand-lcg-
:ed worm at one meal. 81 tent cater
pillars at another meal. 65 oipsv
moths at another, and IS army worms
Al a""thcr. The toad frog has a good
appetite. Bul Of all the things he
eats he is particularly fond of these
dangerous and destructive worms,
bugs, etc. Mr.. Kirkland has figured
out that of the food the toad eats, 81
per cent. consists of these injurious
insects.
Toads should not be killed by a
man or little boys or little girls. Ev-
erybody knows that, knew it before
Mr.. kirkland said so. In fact, it is
dangerous to kill toad frogs. There is
no telling what might happen to
little boy little girl who kills a
toad grok. T ks, owls, crows, snakes
and skunks kill toad frogs. Little BOYS
and little girls ought not to want to
be classed with hawks, owls, crows,
snakes and skunks.
The toad frog, all in all, is q very
desirable citizen.