Toadstool

“ The ancients supposed that the world was shaped like a bun, and they imagined it as supported by the tet or pillar of the Almighty. It is therefore possible that the Toadstool or Mushroom derived its name not because toads never sit upon it, but because it was held to be a perfect emblem of the earth. ”

“ The part which we gather and call a mushroom, a toadstool, or a puffball is only the fruit, answering to the round balls of the mould. The rest of the plant is a thick network of tubes, which you will see under the third microscope. ”

“ For leisurely indifference, followed by a business-like grab, nothing can beat a toad. Almost before the cover is lifted, figuratively speaking, the worm's head and tail are wriggling, like a lively moustache, out of the sides of the toad's mouth. The head and tail he gently pats in with his hands, and there is no longer any worm; after which the toad smiles affably and comfortably, possibly meditating a liqueur. I have an especial regard for the giant toad in one of the cases against the inner wall of the reptile-house lobby. ”

“ The toad, as well as the frog, casts its skin in the process of growth. When the skin has become too small, and the shedding approaches, the white, green, and brown colors of the coat become dull, and a peculiar dryness appears. A new skin is forming under the outgrown one, which presently splits in half down the middle of the back and the under part of the body. The toad now begins to twist and twitch, and the old skin wrinkles and folds along the sides. Then the toad tucks a hind-leg under his forearm, and gives a good pull, and lo, he is out of that leg of his trousers. ”

“ The toad, like the frog, is usually born in the water, and is at first a tadpole. When it loses its gills and tail, it comes out of the water and lives upon the land, until it goes into the water again in the spring to lay its eggs.
4. Sometimes the toad can not reach the water at the proper time, and then the tadpole changes to a perfect toad soon after it is hatched. [131]
5. The toad feeds on insects, and is very useful about the garden, as it picks off the grubs and beetles that destroy the fruit and flowers.
6. It eats only living insects, and it never chases its prey. ”

“ What I came down for was to secure some specimens of horned toads for the museum. I—”
“Horned toads!” exclaimed Nellie, who was walking with Jerry, while Rose had volunteered to show Ned the beauties of the Mexican garden. “Horned toads! Ugh! The horrible things. I hope you don’t bring them around where I am, Professor. Horned toads! Why don’t you search after something beautiful, like the wonderful butterfly you found in Florida?”
“A horned toad is just as beautiful as a butterfly,” said Mr. Snodgrass gravely. “The only difference is, people don’t appreciate the toad. ”

“ Near by we see the frog pond, with lush growth of arrow leaves and pickerel weed, and flat blades of blue-flag just starting from the boggy earth. Half submerged upon a lily pad, close by the water’s edge, an ugly toad sits watching for some winged morsel for that ample mouth of his.
Who could believe that so much poetic inspiration could emerge from such a mouth as that; for verily it is this miserable-looking toad that lifts his little voice in the dreamy, drowsy chorus of the twilight. All sorts of odium have been heaped upon the innocent toad; but he only returns good for evil. ”

“ The toad's eyes are tightly shut whilst he swallows the morsel, and then he turns to pick up a second. Now is the time to approach him from behind and begin to stroke his leathery, warty skin. In a few seconds he is in a state of perfect ecstasy, his front legs are stretched out, he leans first to one side, then to the other, to guide the hand where he wishes to be stroked, and at last uplifts his ponderous body until he is an inch or more from the ground, supported on the tips of his toes. ”

“ WE’LL teach him to be a sensible Toad!’
‘This very morning,’ continued the Badger, taking an arm-chair, ‘as I learnt last night from a trustworthy source, another new and exceptionally powerful motor-car will arrive at Toad Hall on approval or return. At this very moment, perhaps, Toad is busy arraying himself in those singularly hideous habiliments so dear to him, which transform him from a (comparatively) good-looking Toad into an Object which throws any decent-minded animal that comes across it into a violent fit. We must be up and doing, ere it is too late. ”

“ How many are the buried treasures over which a toad sits as guardian, laughing to himself at the busy mortals above who would give their eyes and ears to possess that which is really within their reach if they did but know it! And, apart from this peculiar point of view, how happy the life of a well-regulated toad!—how simple his tastes; how free from care his heart, how tranquil his existence, so long as he is permitted to enjoy it without being stamped upon by the cruel heel of mortal, or swallowed by the voracious mouth of snake. With the toads of the forest, then, Smith made his home ”

“ He came solemnly up to Toad, shook him by the paw, and said, "Welcome home, Toad! Alas! what am I saying? Home, indeed! This is a poor home-coming. Unhappy Toad!" Then he turned his back on him, sat down to the table, drew his chair up, and helped himself to a large slice of cold pie.
Toad was quite alarmed at this very serious and portentous style of greeting; but the Rat whispered to him, "Never mind; don't take any notice; and don't say anything to him just yet. He's always rather low and despondent when he's wanting his victuals. In half an hour's time he'll be quite a different animal." ”

“ Every few months the toad gets a new coat. Its old skin gets hard and dry, and cracks open on the back, showing a new skin under it. Then the toad pulls his head out, and pushes the old skin off his body and legs. When he has got it all off, he rolls it up into a ball and swallows it.
9. Toads live thirty or forty years, and often become quite tame. They will come at a call, and they seem to enjoy a gentle scratching. When held by the legs, they will catch the flies brought within their reach as readily as when at liberty.
LESSON L.
[132]
THE SNAIL AND ITS HOUSE.
1. ”

“ Toads during the process of development shed their outer skins every four or five weeks. 26Adult toads shed theirs about four times a year. This skin is shed in one piece, much as a man removes his shirt, and is then swallowed.
The tongue of a toad is fastened in front of his mouth, which helps greatly to catch his food, as he shoots his tongue out and seizes it. He does not drink like other creatures, but absorbs water through the pores of his skin. If kept in a dry place for even a few days, he will grow thin and die; but if a toad has proper environment he will live to be very old. ”

“ He is too heavy to take a leap; instead he progresses by very short jumps on all four feet which give the impression of being accomplished only by a great effort. But he rises alertly to his full quadrupedal height when he is considering the best way to negotiate a worm.
The colour of the Toad varies a good deal according to the nature of the soil upon which he happens to live. It is usually some tint of brown or grey, but the brown may be almost red in sandpits, a rich brown or a dirty brown; the grey may be light or with an olive tinge or a sooty hue that may pass as black. ”

“ He has a flatter back than the Frog, the bones of the pelvis not producing so sharp an angle; and the hind legs are not so long in proportion to the body, only slightly exceeding the length of head and body, whereas in the Frog they are one and a half times that length. The Toad seems more solidly built than the Frog, with broader head, shorter limbs, and in general aspect is closer to the earth, a heavier, more grovelling creature than the vaulting Frog. This earthliness is accentuated by the texture and colour of his skin. ”

“ In the old days every great man kept a toad-eater; sometimes his functions were highly paid—Wolff's are, I fancy. A dish of toads of the largest and most repulsive variety used to be offered one by one to the big [Pg 167] man's relatives and guests. A good many would partake of them. It was the toad-eater's office to devour the remainder with apparent gusto."
"Reginald, you're a wretch! and I don't believe a word of it," said Lucy.
Haggard yawned, drained his glass, and they retired to prepare themselves for the journey to Walls End Castle, which was to take place on the morrow. ”

“ Still, the toad is a respectable animal enough, and to those who will wisely discard the prejudice attached to its name, a very curious and interesting animal. Ever since I used to potter up and down our garden, a small six-year old naturalist, with magnifying glass always open in one hand, and an empty pill-box in the other, the toad has been a great avourite with me, though, perhaps, considering the rude handling to which it was continually subjected, the feeling was hardly reciprocated on the part of the reptile. ”

“ Even Duppo, in spite of his late fright, could not help bursting out laughing. The colour of the big toad was a brownish-olive and white below; but the head was most extraordinary, as it had a snout almost pointed, the nostrils forming a kind of leathery tube. The creature was, I at once guessed, the Surinam toad—Pipa Americana—which I knew was found, not only in Surinam, but in other parts of this region. It is, though one of the ugliest of its race, one of the most interesting. The male toad, as soon as the eggs are laid, takes them in its paws, and places them on the back of the female. ”

“ The young tadpoles are jet black and very active. They make all their changes very early and in the same manner as the frog, and are quite small when they arrive at the perfect toad-shape. As soon as they have produced four legs and their tails have been absorbed, they leave the water and set off on long journeys; for the toad is a born vagrant, and not, like the frog, a home-stayer.
Avoiding the sun’s heat they travel chiefly by night, and by day hide under stones or herbage. If clouds cover the sky they take heart and hop forth on their pilgrimage. ”

“ It is by no means necessary, as has been repeatedly asserted, for the toad to remain motionless, with its eyes intently fixed on its victim. On the contrary, I have often seen the toad catch beetles in spots where it could not see them, and without even attempting to look for them. The tongue can be flung in any direction, and always with equal certainty of aim, at right angles to the head for example, out of either corner of the mouth, or even under the body. I have repeatedly seen the creature aim at an insect that was crawling under its body, and mostly with success ”

“ There was much talking and laughter and chaff among the animals, but through it all Toad, who of course was in the chair, looked down his nose and murmured pleasant nothings to the animals on either side of him. At intervals he stole a glance at the Badger and the Rat, and always when he looked they were staring at each other with their mouths open; and this gave him the greatest satisfaction. Some of the younger and livelier animals, as the evening wore on, got whispering to each other that things were not so amusing as they used to be in the good old days ”

“ Admitting, then, that Toads are occasionally found in cavities of wood and stone with which there is no communication sufficiently large to allow the ingress and egress of the animal inclosed in them, we may, I think, find a solution of such phenomena in the habits of these reptiles, and of the insects which form their food. The first effort of the young Toad, as soon as it has left its tadpole state and emerged from the water, is to seek shelter in holes and crevices of rocks and trees. ”

“ The Common Toad can exist without food for a long time, provided the locality is cool and damp, but it wastes away almost to skin and bones. In order to disprove the persistently cropping up fable and sensational newspaper-accounts of toads having been discovered immured in buildings, where they were supposed to have lived for many years, Frank Buckland put a dozen specimens into separate holes bored in a block of porous limestone, covered them up tightly with a glass plate and buried the block a yard deep in the soil. ”

“ Though not equal in power to the parent toad, thou seest what he has done. Yonder beasts of prey and pasture and fowls are his work. As fast as they were conceived by him, and uncouth and ungainly they were, I dipped them into Toad’s Pool, and perfected them outwardly, according to their uses, and, as thou seest, each specimen has its mate. Whereas, both thou and they alike have the acrid poison of the toad, thou from the parent, they in a greater measure from the child toad, the mortal taint when ripe will end both man and beast. ”

“ Every normal outdoors dog, in early puppyhood, undertakes to bite or pick up a toad. And no dog ever tried it a second time. A zoölogy sharp told me why. He said toads’ skins are covered with some sort of chemical that would make alum taste like sugar, by contrast. It’s horrible stuff, and it’s the toad’s only weapon. No dog ever takes a second chance of torturing his tongue with it. That’s why Mac keeps his mouth shut, every time he noses at the ugly thing. The toad is quite as safe from him as Bernhardt was from dying on the elaborate Camille sofa. ”