130 THE COMMON TOAD 



acts automatically as a defence against assault and 

 battery. Shakespeare was country-bred, and ought to 

 have known better than to accept and repeat the 

 current slander against this useful and harmless 

 amphibian ; but he names it in more than twenty 

 passages in his plays, always with loathing and con- 

 tempt. 

 Thus : 



' Sweet are the uses of adversity, 

 Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, 

 Wears yet a precious jewel in its head.' 



As Ton Like It, Act n. Sc. 1. 



' Never hung poison on a fouler toad.' 



Richard III., Act i. Sc. 2. 



And so forth. So truly hath it been spoken, ' Give a 

 dog a bad name and hang him ! ' 



I have referred to the excellent service rendered to 

 gardeners by toads in the destruction of snails, beetles, 

 woodlice, earwigs, and other pests. It seems, however, 

 that our British Bufo draws the line at slugs. Dr. Hans 

 Gadow of Cambridge has described how he kept toads 

 in his conservatory for many years, closely observing 

 their habits, but never induced one to swallow a slug. 

 One should say that it predicates a palate of extra- 

 ordinary sensitiveness to discriminate between snails, 

 which the toad loves, and slugs, which it abominates. 



A toad's movements are peculiarly sluggish and 

 awkward in all respects except one, namely, the action 

 of its tongue in seizing its prey. This has been so aptly 

 described by Dr. Gadow that I must crave leave to 



