Year: 1873

At the Portland meeting of the Scientific
Association, Professor Scudder entertained
the audience by reading a curious paper
py Df thomas Hill, on the "Bufo Ameri-
cahus or common toad. 1t was as fol-
lows:


lhis note Is intended as contribution
toward the psychology of the American
TOAD, simply presenting some evidences of
Intelligence and of capacity for learning
10 "hlch | have been witness. In the
summers of ls43-i5 an old toad used to
SIT under the door of beehive every fine
evening, and dexterously pick up those
bees who, overladen or tired, missed the
doorstep and fell to the ground. He lost,
by some accident, one eye. and it was OBJ
served by several members of the family,
as well as myself, that he had with it lost
his ability to pick up bee at the first trial;
his tongue struck on one side of the bee;
but after several weeks practice with one
eye he rcgained his old certainty of aim.
have never seen our toad use his hands
to crowd his food into his mouth as the
European toads do, although he uses them
freely to wipe out of his mouth and inedi-
bic OF disagreeable substance. When our
toad gets into his mouth part of an insect
too large for his tongue to thrust down
|
tempting II humming bird,) he resorts to
the nearest stone or clod and presses the
protruding part of his mouthful against it,
and this crowds it down his throat. This
can be observed at any time by placing
locusts hind legs together and throwing
it before small toad. On one occasion
l gave yellow striped locust to little
toad in its second summer, when he was
IN the middle OF a very wide gravel walk.
In moment he had the locust's head down
his throat, its hinder parts protruding.
He looked around for stone or clod; but
finding none at hand in either direction,
he bowed his head and crept along push
ing the locust against the ground. But
the angle with the ground was too small
and my walk too well rolled. To increase
the angle he straightened his hind legs up,
but in vain. AT length he threw up his
hind quarters and actually stood upon his
head, or rather on the locust sticking out
OF his mouth, and after repeating this
once or twice succeeded in 'sgetting out
side of his dinner"


But these instances of ingenious adapta-
ton to the circumstances were exceeded by
four years old toad at Antioch College.
| was tossing him earthworms while dig
ging, and presently threw him so large
specimen that he was obliged to attack one
end only. That end was instantly trans
ferred to his stomach, the other end writh-
ing free in air and coiled about the toads
head. lie waited until its writings gave
him chance, swallowed half an inch;
then taking nip with his jaws, waited for
chance to draw in another half inch
But there were so many half inches to dis
pose of that at length his jaws grew tired,
nf tho
crawled out tive-eights of an inch be-
tween each half inch swallowing. The
toad perceiving this brought his hind
foot to aid his jaws, grasping his abdomen
with his foot; and by a little effort getting
hold of the worm in his stomach from the
outside, he thus by his foot held fast to
what he gained by each swallow. and
presently succeeded in getting the worm
entirely down. A garter lsnake was OBJ
served this summer in North Conway,
pushing a toad down his throat by running
it against clods and stones, just as the toad
crowds down locust. On Tuesday morn
ing | threw a squash bug to a young toad.
He snapped it up, but Immediately reject
ed it, wiped his mouth with great energy,
and then hoped away with extraordinary
rapidity. | was so much amused that
gathered some more of the saw bugs and
carried them to a favorite old toad at the
northeast corner of the house. He ate
them all without making any wry faces.
gathered all that could find in my vines,
and he eat them all to the number of %.
| then brought him some Larvae of pyg@ra-
ministra, three quarters grown, and sue
ceeded in enticing him to put "a of them
on top Of his squash-bugs. Finding that
his virtue was not proof against the cater
pillars when put them on the end OF
straw and tickled his nose with them, he
at length turned and crept under the
piazza, where he remained till Friday al
ternoon digesting his feast.


Professor Wilder supplemented DR..
Hills toad stories with an account of some
toads he had found on an island with guam
titles of crabs in their stomachs. One toad
had been known to eat 7l3 flies.