618 Extracts from the Minute-Book of the Linnean Society. 



feathers of her breast singly across, or rather through 

 her bill, and appeared to suck an oily substance from 

 them. This induced him to smear her breast with com- 

 mon train-oil ; and observing that she greedily sucked 

 the feathers, he repeated the smearing two or three times 

 in each day for about a week. He then placed a sau- 

 cer containing oil in the cage, and he observed that she 

 regularly extracted the oil by dipping her breast in the 

 vessel, and then sucked the feathers as before. In this 

 way he kept her for three months. After feeding she 

 sat quietly at the bottom of the cage, sometimes making 

 the same purring noise which first attracted his notice, 

 and sometimes whistling very shrilly. 



Feb. 6, Dr. Sims, F.L.S. communicated some observations 

 1821. on the oeconomy of the Toad (Rana Bufo) by William 

 Fothergill, Esq. of which the following is an extract : 

 — " The common food of the Toad is small worms, and 

 insects of every description ; but its favourite food 

 consists of Apis mellifica, A. conica, A. terrestris, and 

 Vespa vulgaris. When a Toad strikes any of these in- 

 sects, however, deglutition does not immediately take 

 place as in other cases, but the mandibles remain 

 closely compressed for a few seconds, in which time 

 the bee or Avasp is killed, and all danger of being stung 

 avoided. The mandibles are provided with two pro- 

 tuberances, which appear to be destined for this office. 

 Although capable of sustaining long abstinence, the 

 Toad is a voracious feeder when opportunity offers. 

 To a middle-sized one the writer has given nine wasps, 

 one immediately after another ; the tenth it refused, 

 but in the afternoon of the same day it took eight more. 



To 



