xxxi RIVERSIDE LETTERS 249 



On the venom of toads, p. 93. 



"The best authorities, such as Bell's 

 British Reptiles, deny the poisonous char- 

 acter of the toad's exudation ; it is acrid, and 

 that is all." 



Canon Ellacombe further corrects me for 

 stating that " robins do not pack," for he 

 says that they do when they migrate. 



I am sure all lovers of gardens must be, 

 as I am, grateful to Canon Ellacombe for 

 the delightful book he has just written on 

 his Gloucestershire garden. 



Mr. R. Scot Skirving, Edinburgh, referring 

 to the statement of the farmer that rams 

 pastured in a meadow caused mushrooms to 

 grow in it, writes : 



" Every book I have read on the artificial 

 growth of mushrooms contains some sentence 

 like this : ' Use horse-dung for manure, 

 strange to say that of entire horses is said 

 to be the best.' This is easily explained. 

 Entire horses are much more highly fed than 

 other horses, and therefore their dung is 



