HOW TO TEST A TOAD-STONE 



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(Lupton, * A thousand notable things of sundry sortes. 

 Whereof some are wonderful, some strange, some pleasant, 

 divers necessary, a great sort profitable, and many very 

 precious,' London, 1595). "You shall know," he says, 

 " whether the Toadstone called ' crapaudina ' be the right 

 and perfect stone or not. Hold the stone before a toad, 

 so that he may see it. And if it be a right and true 



FIG. 5. The palate of the fossil fish Lepidotus, showing the stud- 

 like teeth in position. These are often found singly, and stained 

 of a dull brown colour by the rock in which they were embedded. 

 It was the colour of these fossil teeth, like that of a toad's body, 

 which led to the assertion that they were produced in the head of 

 the toad. a. A single detached tooth or "toad-stone" seen from 

 the bright unattached surface, b. The same seen from the attached 

 surface, c. A section of the tooth showing its cup-like shape. 

 (Original drawings.) 



stone, the toad will leap towards it and make as though 

 he would snatch it from you ; he envieth so much that a 

 man should have that stone. This was credibly told 



