A Wounded Winterer
From a garden wall, composed of stone and rubble, was heard one morning last week a clear and plaintive cry on the note D (with apologies for the word). It was thought at first to be uttered by a bird, but as investigation proceeded the sound—still on the single note—was traced to a hole in the wall, and a toad was seen lying almost on its back. Some slight fall in the structure of the rough wall, was crushing the unhappy hibernator. It was wounded severely in one leg, but the pain did not seem to have quite thoroughly roused the toad from the depth of its winter slumber. One of the most fatal events for many of the hibernators is to awake prematurely. Waking energy rearouses
• hunger, and the ability to bear starvation gladly is lost. The toad refused food, and kept its eyes persistently shut. It will be carefully watched, and the hope is that its life may be saved by its persistent endeavour to maintain, at any rate, the
semblance of slumber. A long period of inanition has to be endured, for toads are late sleepers, absolutely and relatively in comparison with frogs. Incidentally, do toads habitually wail or cry for help on a particular note?
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