9.6 Rev. Dr Buckland on the Vitality of 



could not be weighed accurately, it was scarcely possible to esti- 

 mate the quantity of carbonic acid that they contained, from the 

 loss of weight caused by the effervescence. I found it a little 

 greater than it ought to have been, on the supposition that the 

 whole of the lime was in the state of carbonate ; and I did not 

 think it necessary to have recourse to a more delicate mode of 

 ascertaining its quantity, for I had no reason to suspect the pre- 

 sence of any other salt of lime, excepting a small quantity of the 

 phosphate. When the dilute muriatic acid was applied to the 

 pericarps, the effervescence was brisk ; but they appeared to of- 

 fer some resistance to its action ; and when they were not allowed 

 to remain in contact with it, for at least twelve hours, the silica 

 always contained a little lime. Nitric acid, which acted more 

 powerfully upon the vegetable matter, dissolved the lime speedi- 

 ly, the fragments became very thin, and the siliceous coating 

 alone was left ; but, in this case, it was quite impossible to make 

 any calculation for the carbonic acid. 



An examination of a larger quantity of these seeds might af- 

 ford some interesting results ; and the whole plant is worthy of 

 attention. I may remark, that they had been collected a year 

 when the analysis was made. 



On the Vitality of Toads enclosed in Stone and Wood. By the 

 Rev. W. Buckland, F. R. S., F, L. S., F. G. S., and Pro- 

 fessor of Geology and Mineralogy in the University of Ox- 

 ford. Communicated by the Author. 



In the month of November 1825, I commenced the following 

 experiments with a view to explain the frequent discoveries of 

 toads enclosed within blocks of stone and wood, in cavities that 

 are said to have no communication with the external air. 



In one large block of coarse oolitic limestone, (the Oxford 

 oolite from the quarries of Heddington) twelve circular cells 

 were prepared, each about one foot deep and five inches in dia- 

 meter, and having a groove or shoulder at its upper margin fitted 

 to receive a circular plate of glass, and a circular slate to pro- 

 tect the glass ; the margin of this double cover was closed round, 

 and rendered impenetrable to air and water by a luting of soft 



