152 MEPHITIC TOAD. 



versary had included toads and vipers in the 

 drum, which, being put into a rage by the beat- 

 ing and trembling of the instrument, breathed out 

 a poisonous vapour, which manifestly exerted its 

 virulence upon the seat of life itself; namely, the 

 brain!!!" 



VAR. ? 

 Natter- Jack. Brit. Zool 3. p. 18. 



To the above animal seems greatly allied the 

 species known in some parts of England by the 

 name of the Natter-Jack, and which is thus de- 

 scribed in the British Zoology : 



" This species frequents dry and sandy places : 

 it is found in Putney Common, and also near 

 Reevesby Abby, Lincolnshire, where it is called the 

 Natter-Jack. It never leaps, neither does it crawl 

 with the slow pace of a toad, but its motion is 

 liker to running. Several are found commonly 

 together, and, like others of the genus, they appear 

 in the evening. 



"The upper part of the body is of a dirty 

 yellow, clouded Avith brown, and covered with 

 porous pimples, of unequal sizes : on the back is 

 a yellow line. The under side of the body is of a 

 paler hue, marked with black spots, which are ra- 

 ther rough. On the fore feet are four divided 

 toes ; on the hind feet five, a little webbed. The 

 length of the body is two inches and a quarter ; 

 the breadth one and a quarter : the length of the 



