124 OUR REPTILES. 



surprised to find that though the usual snap was made, the 

 insect never moved. On close examination I found that, being 

 near-sighted. I had mistaken a fly that had been smashed in 

 closing the door for a living specimen, and the toad had evidently 

 made the same mistake. If they do not succeed when they 

 strike at an insect, they will try again and again, in no way dis- 

 couraged by failure. 



In collecting flies for their benefit, a glass tube, closed at one 

 end with a cork, has been found very handy. Flies at rest are 

 easily caught by a rapid sweep of the hand, and if the open end 

 of the tube is then thrust into the hand, the fly will quickly 

 make its way into it, and thus one or two dozen flies can be 

 readily introduced into the tube, as they will alwa)s collect at 

 that end which is pointed to the light. If this tube is then 

 placed in the toad vivarium, the insects will crawl out one by 

 one, and as they proceed along it the toads will repeatedly 

 strike at them, not deterred by the hard glass that balks their 

 attempts. The swallow of the toad must be capacious, as 

 insects of large size go down at one gulp. The cockroach of 

 our kitchens, commonly called the " black-beetle," is a substan- 

 tial insect ; but the largest specimen disappears as quickly as a 

 house fly, though not unfrequently one of the antennas is seen 

 projecting cigar-fashion from the toad's mouth for a minute or 

 two. Hard beetles, if of any size, appear more difficult to dis- 

 pose of. I have seen a large Otiorhynchus reproduced with a 

 dreadful grimace the next minute after it had been swallowed : 

 but a second attempt was more successful and the poor insect 

 was seen no more in the land of the living. 



The manner in which a toad manages to get rid 

 of his old skin has been thus minutely described by 

 an eye-witness : — 



About the middle of July I found a toad on a hill of melons, 

 and, not wanting him to leave, I hoed around him ; he appeared 

 sluggish, and not inclined to move. Presently I observed him 

 pressing his elbows hard against his sides, and rubbing down- 

 wards. He appeared so singular, that I watched to see what 

 he was up to. After a few smart rubs, his skin began to burst 



