p. 302 | Toads in the Garden

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · May 20, 1886

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 19.

Toads in the Garden.

We have several kinds of live stock in our garden,—the birds that come and go as they please, the bugs and worms that come and stay, in spite of us, and the toads, which we keep, not for their music or their beauty, but for the good they do. Some children hunt toads and kill them. Ours bring them home and settle them for life, and so they go hopping around the garden, till they get near a bug, and then, quick as a flash, out goes a long, sticky tongue, as long as the toad, and that is the last you ever see of that bug. Here is a good word from the Massachusetts Ploughman, for our homely friends:—

“While volumes are written in favor of the birds as destroyers of insect life, rarely is a line written in favor of the faithful toad, who will destroy more insects injurious to vegetables in the garden in one day, than a whole flock of birds will in a week. We calmly look on with folded arms, and see the robin or cat-bird select our largest and best strawberries that we intended for exhibition; because we are informed that these birds destroy large quantities of insects; but when we find that a toad has dug under one of our strawberry plants, we instantly declare war, and execute the death-penalty, or at least transport the victim for life, without the slightest investigation to ascertain, for what purpose he has dug under the plant, and without the least suspicion that he is after the enemy, which, if not caught, will destroy the plant.

It is true that the toad does not fill the air with charming music, nor do his form and color delight the eyes as do those of the oriole; but he is quite modest and unassuming, never robbing man of the fruits of his labor, but quietly passing by the choicest and most delicious fruits, or only stopping to catch a bug or a fly that is sipping the richest juices of the fruit. If there is one living animal that we should encourage to stay in the garden, it is the toad; because his whole diet is of insects; he is ever on the watch, like a cat, for a victim; and he secures his principal harvest in the night, when the worms are abroad. Is it not reasonable to suppose that the great increase of insects in our gardens is caused by the decrease of toads, more than it is by the decrease of birds?

It is a fact that may have escaped the attention of some, that toads in the garden are not as numerous as formerly. The cause of this decrease may be in consequence of our more frequent stirring of the soil with improved implements. When only the hand-hoe was used, the toad had time to get out of the way, but the wheel-hoe moves so rapidly that he is often caught and killed. In portions of Europe, gardeners not only take especial care of toads in the garden, but frequently buy to keep the stock good. Under-ground shelters are made for the toads by covering a small hole with a board or shingle; this practice might be imitated by American gardeners. A garden well stocked with toads would be greatly protected from many of the insects that are now so destructive to many kinds of vegetation.—Sel.