Miscellaneous. 341 



June 1852 the larva ceased to move, and changed into a pupa on the 

 4th of July. On the 3rd of August this pupa gave birth to a very 

 large female of Cebrio gigas. 



" I wished to know how these larvae could live at a depth of 50- 

 60 centimetres m earth so dry, that during the summer a few plants 

 could scarcelj' vegetate upon it. I endeavoured to ascertain how 

 these insects could travel through a soil, which during long droughts 

 becomes of an extraordinary degree of hardness. Several circum- 

 stances assisted to explain the whole to me. Oue day, whilst holding 

 in my hand the earth which contained one of these larvae, I felt the 

 eflForts which it made to open a way for itself, and found that it dif- 

 fused a liquid for the purpose of softening the hard and compact 

 earth, and that the first segment of its thorax possessed the faculty 

 of enlarging by its dilatation in this moistened earth, the passages 

 which the larva is obliged to pass through in search of its nourish- 

 ment, which consists of roots. 



" On the 8th of November last, I found, in a small space, three 

 larvse of different ages, from which we may conclude that they remain 

 several years in the earth." — Comptes llendus, Jan. 31, 1853, p. 225. 



On the Reproduction of the Toad and Frog without the intermediate 

 stage of Tadpole. By Edward Joseph Lowe, Esq., F.G.S., 

 F.R.A.S. 



The following brief remarks on the Toad {Bufo vulgaris) and the 

 Frog (Rana temporaria) may perhaps be received with some degree 

 of interest, as they are, I believe, contrary to the generally received 

 notion of the procreation of these reptiles. Ray, and most natural- 

 ists, at least, consider toads and frogs as oviparous animals, yet it 

 is apparent that they are viviparous as well, or if they do not bring 

 forth their young alive, have the power of reproduction in a differ- 

 ent manner to the ova and subsequent tadpole. 



Mr. J. Higginbottom of Nottingham, who has paid great atten- 

 tion to this subject, has clearly proved the development of the tad- 

 pole to the perfect toad in situations wholly deprived of light, as I 

 have through his kindness several times witnessed. My present re- 

 marks are intended to show that occasionally frogs and toads are 

 reproduced in localities where it would be impossible for the inter- 

 mediate stage of tadpole to have any existence. 



First. Toads deposit spawn in cellars and young toads are after • 

 wards observed. 



Last summer several masses of spawn were procured from my 

 cellar, having been found deposited amongst decaying potatoes, &c., 

 and subsequently young toads were noticed. The cellar is free 

 from water, and at a considerable distance from any brook. 



Secondly. Young toads are observed about hot-beds. 



In the kitchen-garden at Highfield House (which is entirely walled 

 round) young toads have been noticed about the cucumber- and 

 melon- beds. The gardeners have been in the habit of bringing 



