found inchfed in Slones, &c. 227 



what fpongy nature, found in great abundance in the Adri- 

 atic Sea, and of which there are fome alfo in the port of 

 Civita Vecchia. Thefe fea dates, which are a kind of muf- 

 cles, are almoft round, pointed, at both ends, and confift of 

 two {hells which open on one fide, and are from one oT two 

 to nearly four inches in length. The {hell is of the fame 

 quality as that of the common mufcle, but it is a little 

 browner and lefs fmooth on the outfide. The infide has a 

 fomewhat filvery appearance. The fifti Which they contain 

 is white, delicate, fat, and of a very agreeable tafte, fo that 

 it is amorfel for a cardinal {un became di cardhiale). They 

 are called dates, becaufe the {hell which contains the fifli 

 has a great refemblance to the dates of Barbary when they 

 are ripe and dried. The ftone in which they are inclofed is 

 heavy and pretty folid, though it appears fpongy. The 

 cavity which the {hell occupies in the ftone, and which 

 it exactly fills, touches it on all fides like the beft fitted cafe. 

 Some fmall ones are not half an inch in length, but others 

 are four inches. When the fifhermen had procured a fuffi- 

 cient number of the ftones, they placed them on the edge of 

 the quay, and broke them by means of a large hammer. In 

 fome they found nothing, but others contained two or three 

 dates. They gave fome of them to me, together with frao- 

 ments of the ftone which inclofed them, and on which I 

 made the above obfervations." 



Inftanccs of a fimilar kind may be found alfo in various 

 other works. Thus we are told that Charles Hall, a mer- 

 chant atEberach, faw a living toad fitting in a ftone, upon 

 its being broken. Martin Weinreich * relates a circumftance 

 of the like kind ; and John Nardius t fays, that he found in 

 a block of marble a living fnake. Libavius fpeaks of vipers 

 and toads found in ftones, as does alfo Cardan. A living 



* Commentar. dc Monfiris. cap. vii. p. 58. 

 \ Juan. Nard. in Ana. i. noft. gen. 4. p. 266. 



O 2, toad 



