HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



219 



•with its size, are very bright. Indeed, their very 

 insignificance of size seems to be compensated for by 

 their remarkable brilliancy and beauty. A slow- 

 worm's eye is the prettiest part of its whole body. 

 Another delusion of those ignorant of natural history 

 and its teachings (although like most of the other 

 erroneous notions of reptile life, such belief, owing to 

 the advance of scientific culture, is rapidly on the 

 decline) is that a slow-worm can inflict a bite that is 

 poisonous. It is well I have said " those ignorant of 

 natural history and its teachings," for it is evident 

 if these ignorant ones were more conversant with 

 nature, they could not labour under such an error. 

 It is as much an impossibility for a slow- worm to 

 poison anyone, as it is for an eel to do so, for the 

 very simple but conclusive reason that, instead of 

 possessing fangs with which to inject poison and a 

 pair of glands from which to secret the venom, it 

 possesses numerous minute teeth. The use of these 

 teeth to the slow-worm is not very obvious, for it 

 swallows its food whole. In the summer of last year 

 I was returning from a ramble, with a half dead slow- 

 worm in my hand, when I met an acquaintance. 

 After we had been talking for some time, the gentle- 

 man, who, by the way, had sorely neglected the 

 fascinating study of nature, although he was an artist, 

 told me he was once bitten by a slow-worm, and that 

 the wound became very much inflamed. There is no 

 doubt he was bitten by an adder and not a slow- 

 worm, for the latter's teeth cannot pierce the 

 epidermis. Another belief, common among the 

 uncultured, is that snakes "sting," and that they do 

 so by means of that wonderful structure, the forked 

 tongue. This is probably the reason the slow- 

 worm, as well as the ringed snake, has gained its 

 present reputation of "stinging" and "poisoning." 

 The common ringed snake (JVafn'x torquata) is 

 reputed to be venomous, no doubt, as I have said 

 before, in consequence of its possessing a forked 

 tongue. 



Adders are deservedly known to be as venomous as 

 Anguis fragilis and Natrix torquata are harmless. 

 Frogs and toads have been believed for many years 

 to be capable of existing under most extraordinary 

 circumstances, and are even now believed by many 

 to have the power of living without food and air for 

 months and even years. It is truly marvellous how 

 long reptiles can live without food. Here are a few 

 instances, very kindly furnished by Mr. Halfpenny, 

 which I quote, not because they are extraordinary, 

 for there are many others on record much more 

 wonderful, but because they are of recent occurrence 

 and their accuracy can be relied on. "I have a 

 young live adder in my possession which has taken 

 no food since I have had it, the first week of last 

 October (1884)." This would be nearly four months 

 the adder fasted, and it is the more perplexing, that 

 during this period, the adder has been kept in a case 

 in a warm room, where the fire was constantly 



burning. The adder had not therefore been dormant 

 during those four months, but constantly wearing 

 away tissue which it could not repair. He then goes 

 on to say, " A toad I have kept four months without 

 food, and a triton six ; the same fact has been 

 observed in the tortoise by a friend of mine. They 

 each expired at the end of that period." According 

 to occasional reports, frogs {Ratia tcmporaria) and 

 toads {Bufo vulgaris) have been found alive in rocks 

 and trees where they must have been for years, 

 without the possibility of air penetrating to them, 

 much less food. If a toad or frog has been found 

 alive under these circumstances, depend upon it both 

 air and food in some way penetrated to the prisoner. 

 Dr. Buckland, by his experiments, has perhaps done 

 more to dispel this absurd idea than any one. He 

 confined twelve toads in separate holes cut in soft 

 sandstone and covered the apertures with plates of 

 glass firmly cemented to the sandstone, so as to 

 exclude both insects and air. When about a year 

 had elapsed he examined the holes, and of course 

 found the toads dead. Toads are also thought by 

 many to be capable of emitting fire. As a matter of 

 fact they cannot " spit fire," but still it is interesting 

 to note how credulous some people are in the nine- 

 teenth century. The toad, in spite of its evil character, 

 has been found by gardeners a most useful adjunct, 

 being very effectual in ridding the garden of insects. 

 The last reptiles to be mentioned are newts ( Triton 

 cristatus and Triton picnctatus) and lizards. All 

 these creatures are believed to be capable of biting, 

 and thus inflicting a nasty, if not dangerous wound. 

 How some of the errors, which I have enumerated 

 were originated, is a fitting subject for the philosopher. 

 The humble naturalist will not venture an opinion on 

 so profound a mystery. 



Arthur Ayling. 



THE ECDYSIS OF INSECTS. 



ONE of the writers in the August number of 

 Science-Gossip, described a specimen of 

 Phthirius i/iguina/is, in which he noticed that 

 within each of the animal's claws there existed 

 another claw, resembling the one within which it 

 was situated. He asked, with great caution, whether 

 it was possible that the animal was about to moult. 

 There can be no doubt in my mind that such is the 

 case. All insects which do not pass through the 

 regular stages of larva, pupa, and imago, but at all 

 times resemble the adult animal, periodically cast 

 their inelastic, chitinous skins. As examples of this 

 can be taken, the cockroaches, crickets, aphides, 

 earwigs, and the whole family of bugs. Were it not 

 for this provision, these animals would not be able 

 to grow. 



The state of things described in the August 

 number, is not confined to the Phthirius inguinalis. 



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