New-York tribune., 1907-12-08
SAVE YOUR TOADS.
4drice GiUen by Scientists to Gard
eners and Farmers.

What to kill and what not to Kill" would be
an appropriate title for forthcoming work on
useful and harmful creeping, crawling and jump
inc live things that bother the farmer. This work,
which is awaited with interest, is being pre-
pared by Professor Surface, the economic zoolo-
gist Of the State of Pennsylvania. The investi-
cations that have been in progress at the de-
partment at Harrisburg for a long time have
been productive of valuable results.
An exhaustive examination has been made Of
the habits of various living creatures that infest
farms with view to ascertaining what effect
it would have on the farmers fortunes to let
them live and what would be the result Of
war Of extermination Toads. frogs and snakes
have been collected from all over the state, and
each individual toad frog or snake made the
subject OF post-mortem examination to deter
mine what ii considers the proper thing for a
satisfying and nourishing meal The contents
of the stomach OF each specimen have been eX-
amined carefully and the results recorded A
report of the entire investigation will be made
in document that will be sent over the country
for the benefit OF all farmers and scientists
The despised Il ad will get a new lease of life
when the report is read. and many snakes that
have heretofore been allowed to masquerade as
harmless. because they were non poisonous, VIII
have their death warrant read for the sole but
all sufficient that they regard frog or
toad as the greatest dainty on the reptillan Dill
of fare. Snakes which kill toads are marked
down as friends of the farmer, because they
destroy the useful creature that lives on the
insect pests which destroy the crops and Vege-
tables The bugs and caterpillarS prey on the
produce of the farm. the frC gS and toads prey on
the bugs and caterpillars while certain snakes
prey on the frogs and toads. Therefore, il Is
logical for the farmer to destroy the snakes who
swallow his little hopping friends. and to enable
him TO do this with discretion the economic
zooogist will specify those snakes that have
been found to eat frogs and toads, and VIII state
exactv the kind of insectivorous pests that were
found in the stonachs of the friendly ppers.
There will be a fund OF good advice in the
forthcoming bulletin concerning the best method
of preserving the useful toads and frogs The
farmer will be warned against starting field fires
and refuse blazes at time when the toads and
FRI gs alternating. for no more effective
means could be devised of lessening the number
OF the enemies of the insect pests. The habits
Of the hoppers will be explained so that every
means may be adopted to preserve them and pro-
long their useful lives. Heretofore the hopt' ad
las been regarded with slight favor here. while
in more economic Europe he has been made
commercial product the farmers buying toads
for the express purpose cf setting them at lib
erty on the land. to make on the little pests
that destroy the crops.
Almost every kind OF insect pest has been
found in the stomachs Of the toads examined at
the department at Harrisburg, such as the
striped flea beetle. the mealy plant louise. the
cabbage aphis. the cucumber beetle, the squash
bug. the Colorado beetle. the truncated swapping
beetle and the obnoxious wireworm.