Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson XLV · Topic 4: Batrachian study: toads, frogs and newts
45. The toad
Goal: Your child can describe how the toad's color, warts, eyes, tongue and legs suit its life of hunting insects at night, and say why gardeners welcome it.
You'll need
- A garden, yard or park on a damp evening, or under a board or flowerpot in a shady garden
- A flashlight (for evening)
- A clean, shallow tub with damp moss or leaves (optional, for a short look)
- A hand lens
- Nature notebook
What's in the book
The leading thought, the method (a moss garden in a screened glass jar, kept damp and out of the sun) and sixteen questions about the toad's color and warts, its skin and cold blood, eyes, nostrils, ears and the swelling behind them, mouth and tongue, hands and feet, color change, jumping, hunting and eating, drinking and burrowing, winter, croaking, breathing and shedding, enemies, and its value to gardeners. A saying of L. H. Bailey about teaching nature "for loving" follows.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Late spring through early fall. Toads hide by day under boards, flowerpots and leaves in damp, shady spots, and come out on warm evenings to hunt insects under porch lights and on paths. After a summer rain is a great time.
Amphibians breathe partly through their damp skin, so sunscreen, soap or bug spray on our hands can hurt them. If you must hold one, wet your clean hands first, hold it gently and low over the ground for a minute or two, then put it back where you found it. Wash your hands with soap afterward, and keep them away from eyes and mouth until you do.
Keep the big idea in mind
Read this to yourself:
The toad is colored so that it resembles the soil and thus escapes the observation of its enemies. It lives in damp places and eats insects, usually hunting them at night. It has powerful hind legs and is a vigorous jumper.
Comstock kept a toad in a moss garden jar. A short look in a damp tub, then letting it go the same day where you found it, works just as well.
Color and warts
Describe the general color of the toad above and below. How does the toad's back look? Of what use are the warts on its back?
Does it feel warm or cold to the hand? Is it slimy or dry? The toad is a cold-blooded animal, what does this mean?
Toads don't give people warts; that is an old tale.
Eyes, ears and the big bumps
Describe the eyes and explain how their situation is of special advantage to the toad.
Find and describe the ear. Note the swelling above and just back of the ear. Do you know the use of this?
Those swellings make a bitter poison that keeps animals from eating toads. It is why we wash hands, and why dogs should not mouth toads.
Hands, feet and jumping
Describe the "arms and hands." How many "fingers" on the "hand"?
Why are the hind legs so much larger than the front legs?
How far can it jump?
If the toad hops, measure the jump with a ruler.
Hunting
On an evening walk, watch a toad near a light.
At what time does the toad come out to hunt insects? How does it catch the insect?
Its sticky tongue is fastened at the front of its mouth and flips out.
Put it into words
Ask your child: "How is the toad of great use to the farmer and gardener?" (Comstock's last question.) Then share the leading thought.
Nature notebook
Draw the toad sitting, from the side, with its warts, its big eye and the swelling behind it. Write where you found it and that you let it go.
Afterwards
Turn a clay flowerpot on its side in a shady, damp corner of the garden with a little soil inside: a "toad house." Peek once a week.
Tip
Comstock's teacher wrote under this lesson, quoting L. H. Bailey: "we are to teach it for loving." Handle toads seldom and gently.