THE TOAD. 17I 



liinder paws, and kept working it till he had cxtradled the whole chain* 

 which is often forty feet long, innpregnating every egg as it iflued from 

 the body. It is probable this difficulty occurs only on land. The num- 

 ber of males is found to furpafs that of the other fex thirty to one. 



The account given of the progrefs of the frog in and after its tadpole 

 Hate, is defcriptive of the fame events in the life of a toad, and need not 

 be repeated. When they have undergone all the variations of that ftate, 

 they forfake the water, and are often feen, in a moid fummer's evening, 

 crawling up, by myriads, from fenny places into drier fituations. There^ 

 having found out a retreat, or having dug themfelves one with their 

 mouth and hands, they lead a patient, folitary life, fcldom venturing out^ 

 except when the moifture of a fummer's evening invites them abroad. 

 We have the authority of Linnius'for faying, that they fometim.es con- 

 tinue immoveable, with the miouth open, at the bottom of fhrubs, where 

 butterflies, in fome meafurefafcinated, are feen to fly down their throats. 



In a letter from Mr. Arfcott are fome curious particulars relating to 

 this animal. ** I knew it my felf above thirty-fix years ;-and by conftantly 

 feeding it, brought it to be fo tame, that it always came to the candle and 

 looked up, as if expelling to be taken up and broughr upon the table, 

 where I always fed it with infefts of all forts. It was fondefl of flefh mag- 

 gots, which I kept in bran ; it would follow them, and when within a 

 proper diftance, would fix his eyes, and remain motionlefs for near a quar- 

 ter of a minute, as if preparing for the fi:roke, which was an inftantaneous 

 throwing its tongue at a great diftance upon the infefb, which ftuck to 

 the tip by a glutinous matter. The motion is quicker than the eye caa 

 follow. I cannot fay how long my father had been acquainted with the 

 toad before I knew it ; but when I was firfl acquainted with k, he ufed 

 to mention it as the old toad I have known fo many years. This old toad 

 made its appearance as foon as the warm weather came. Spiders, mil- 

 lepedes, and flefli maggots, feem to be this" animal's favourite food, la 

 the heat of the day they will come to the m'outh of thtir hole, 1 believe 

 for air. I once, from my parlour window, obferved a large toad I had in 

 the bank of a bowling-green, about twelve at noon, a very hot day, very 

 bufy and aftive upon the grafs. So uncommon an appearance made me. 

 go out to fee what it was ; when I found an innumerable fwarm of wincr- 

 cd ants had dropped round his hole j which temptation was as irrcCftible 

 as a turtle would be to a luxurious alderman. A tame raven one day 

 feeing it at the mouth of its hole, pulled it out, and, although I refcued 

 it, pulled out one eye, and hurt it fo, that notwithftanding its living 3 



G^ 2 twelve 



