120 0UR REPTILES. 



of retreat. He had again grown fatter and uglier than he was 

 in the autumn, his skin was blacker and coarser, and dark spots 

 covered the whole body. Yet his eye seemed more brilliant and 

 thoughtful. He came direct to the same spot on which I had 

 fed him when last we met, more than four months previously. 

 He was supplied with what we term " garden-hogs," wood-lice, 

 worms, and the lively little black ant. None of these would he 

 touch, if dead, or did not show unmistakable signs of active life. 

 Then would he fix his calculating eye, until the object came 

 within reach of his tongue ; this he would dart at them, and in 

 an instant the object was gone. When satisfied, he would 

 return again to some quiet nook, out of sight. This summer 

 being long and dry, I have had some difficulty in providing him 

 with his necessary food. One day I placed him in a large hole 

 at the bottom of the garden, where I collected the sweepings 

 and rubbish, and he literally became a " toad-in-a-hole." This 

 was some fifty yards from the house, and I left him to shift for 

 himself amongst the insect life of the rubbish. I afterwards 

 sought him to convey him back to his old neighbourhood around 

 the house, but he was nowhere to be found, and this time I gave 

 him up for lost. Four days after, what was my surprise, whilst 

 seated at supper, to see Toady come tumbling heels over head 

 down the step into the room, on a visit to his old friends. The 

 most remarkable feature in this last freak is, the circuitous route 

 he must have taken before he arrived, and the obstacles he must 

 have encountered in his way.* 



Toads, as well as frogs, are insectivorous ; and it 

 is curious to observe how, by means of their folded 

 tongue, they rapidly catch and appropriate any 

 small insects which may come in their way. Large 

 beetles and earthworms occasion them much more 

 trouble, sometimes annoyance. 



Mr. Holland, in narrating his experiences with 



* Science Gossip, vol. i..p. 12. 



