100 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[July, 



to conclude that many of the young toads seen 

 after a shower, were concealed in the neighbor 

 hood of the place where seen. It is well known 

 that toads are somewhat nocturnal in their 

 habits, that they are partial to shade and 

 moisture, hence their migrations from the 

 pools in which they are reared, largly occur 

 during the evening, morning or night. 



Just emerging from the element in which 

 they had passed their tadpole state, they 

 would naturally be somewhat tender, and 

 hence would avoid the rays of the hot sun 

 during the middle part of the day. But 

 should a shower supervene, it would afford 

 the conditions they require for their migra- 

 tions as amply as the night or morning, and 

 would bring them out from their diurnal con- 

 cealment. Although showers of small toads 

 may not be impossible, and from the fact that 

 they have been noticed on roofs of buildings, 

 in water spouting and in rain stands immedi- 

 ately after a shower, would seem to imply 

 that the phenomenon is very probable. But, 

 at least one coincidence is wanting to estab- 

 lish this theory without a peradventure. We 

 have never seen, nor have we ever read of any 

 tadpoles accompanying these showers of toads. 

 While they are in their native ponds and 

 streams their iransformatious from tadpoles 

 to toads do|not take place suddenly nor simul- 

 taneously. We will find tadpoles, tadpoles 

 with the two hind feet developed, tadpoles 

 with both front and hind feet developed, and 

 also those that have been nearly or quite di- 

 vested of their caudal appendages ; and, one 

 would suppose very naturally that some of 

 these forms would be drawn up in a "water- 

 spout" also, and come down in a shower ; but 

 it seems that heretofore nothing but small toads 

 have been noticed. As to "fish-worms," 

 every angler who goes in search for them 

 knows that they retire from the earth's sur- 

 face when it becomes dry, and hence they 

 search for them in moist places. These animals 

 are also somewhat nocturnal in their habits — 

 at least they shun the sunlight and dry atmos- 

 phere. A penetrating shower of rain often 

 brings them out of their subteranean galleries 

 by thousands. They are also known to some- 

 how get into heavily moss-covered roofs, espe- 

 cially such parts of it as are least exposed to 

 the sun. These also come forth after a shower, 

 are carried into the gutters, down the spout-, 

 ing, into the water tank, and then they are 

 supposed to have come down in a shower. 



As to the shower of "lizards" the phe- 

 nomenon is not easily explained, from the 

 fact that these animals are so frequently and 

 so largely comfounded with salamanders, 

 newts, sirens, &c.,— in short, any snake-like 

 animal, with four feet, is called a lizard, by 

 those who consider that there is "nothing in 

 a name." If Kzartis— that is, real saimcins— 

 are meant, it involves tlie question in difficul- 

 ties. The normal locala; of lizards are trees, 

 dry rocks, old logs, etc., where they some- 

 times bask in the sun, or in the shade, ac- 

 cording to the temperature of the weather. 

 They could therefore not be taken up in a i 

 "water-spout," nor yet in a "whirlwind." 

 Their organs of prehension are too perfect to 

 allow them to be detached and carried away 

 by the wind; nor are they suflSciently grega- 

 rious, to permit any considerable number to 

 be so taken up, at any one time or place. The 



greater the violation, and the more intelligent 

 the subjects of it, the greater the monstrosity; 

 and also the greater the responsibility. No 

 cultivated mind can contemplate or view these 

 phenomena with pleasure ; especially those 

 which occur in the animal world, and most 

 especially those which occur in the gwius 

 Homo. They are all more or less revolting to 

 mental refinement, and we shudder almost in- 

 variably at these malformations, without ex- 

 actly knowing the reason why. And yet, 

 some interest attaches to them, as object les- 

 sons in physiologj- under its perverted forms. 

 But there are thousands of malformations 

 which we encounter every day of which verj' 

 little or no note at all is taken, mainly through 

 our mental or moral obtusity— or perhaps 

 more properly, through our charity for the 

 deformed, who may be altogether irresponsi- 

 ble, and the victims of self-willed or disobe- 

 dient progenitors. Under any circumstance 

 we may rationally conclude that one procrea- 

 tive law prevades the entire realm of animal 

 nature, and that these phenomena are the 

 efi'ects of a violation of that law, whether in- 

 tentional or otherwise. But a truce to further 

 philosophizing. Mr. J. B. Echternacht, of 

 Paradise township, exhibited to us one of the 

 most interesting subjects of animal malforma- 

 tion we have ever seen, in the form of a very 

 lively little chick, over three weeks old. It is 

 of the ordinary size of a bird of that age, of 

 a brown color, the pen-feathers of the wings 

 beginning to' show themselves, and has four 

 well-developed feet. Most of these malformed 

 subject's are still-born, many die in the egg, 

 and others a few days after they are brought 

 forth. But this little creature used two of its 

 feet as deftly as any other chick of that age, 

 and was equally as animated, and seemed to 

 manifest the usual distress in being separated 

 from its companions ; and from all appear- 

 ance, is likely in time to develop a full-grown 

 fowl. 



It would be diflicult to maintain the theory, 

 that these phenomena are always the effects 

 of a violation of the organic laws by an intel- 

 ligent and responsible progenitor, because they 

 are constantly occurring where no intelligence 

 and responsibility could possibly exist. That 

 they are the result, of the violation or diver- 

 sion of physical law is indisputable, but that 

 this may occur through ignorance or inadvert- 

 ence, so far as the animal world is concerned, 

 we have only to mention that some years ago 

 it was found that a large number of salmon 

 in one of (5ur far western streams were mal- 

 formed, and this has been of frequent occur- 

 rence among the bipeds and quadrupeds. But 

 these malformations also occur in the vegeta- 

 ble kingdom, and at this moment we have in 

 our garden a "Canterbury-bell" that exhibits 

 a striking case. The flowers on this well- 

 known garden plant are flve-lobed; forming a 

 confluent or continuous corollfe in the form of 

 a bell, and from this, the common name of 

 "Bell-flower" is applied to the whole family 

 (CampanulaceiB). The "Hare-bell," the 

 "Marsh Bell-flower," the "Tall Bell-flower," 

 the "Canterbury Bell," and several other 

 species, belong to the typical genus Campan- 

 ula. Although, usually, there is great uni- 

 formity in the flowers of this plant, yet we 

 have one growing on our premises, in which 

 the corollse are six-lobed, seven-lobed, and one 



twelve-lobed, and the same variations, respect- 

 ively, characterizes the calyxes. The flower 

 that is twelve-lobed is not in the form of a 

 bell, but rather that of a fruit dish or card 

 basket. Of course, these are abnormal forms 

 or "freaks of nature," and are the effects of 

 the violation or diversion of some organic law. 

 Among vegetable substances these abnormal 

 forms are not at all repugnant to refined feel- 

 ing, or only slightly so ; for the "crossing" or 

 amalgamation of fruits and flowers, for the 

 purpose of doubling and improving them, is 

 effected by a similar diversion from the order 

 of natiure. 



A cotemporary in commenting on Mr. Ech- 

 ternnacht's chick (facetiously) hopes he may 

 produce a new breed, as it would furnish just 

 so much more "dark meat" for the table. 

 Would he or any other man— intelligent or 

 ignorant — care about partaking of such a dish, 

 no matter how well it was "served up?" I 

 trow not ; and if not, then there must be a 

 repugnance to such phenomena, that is 

 founded upon a sense of the fundamental dis- 

 order of the thing. 



TWO OF A KIND. 



A Shower of Toads. 



After a heavy Bhower of rain last week the fall- 

 road track of the Lehigh and Susquehanna division, 

 from the depot to the Bethlehem junction, was liter- 

 ally covered with little "hop toads," about the size 

 of a common bean. Andrew Boylan, flagman at the 

 railroad crossing opposite the canal bridge, first 

 noticed the phenomenon after the shower of rain, 

 and the attention of many persons while passing 

 there during the day was directed to the strange 

 sight. A number of the little toads could itlll be 

 seen on Saturday morning hopping around the rail- 

 road track. The question now Is, where did the 

 toads come from ? Did they come from down up, or 

 from up ioyiu'i— Bethlehem Times. 



A Shower of Lizards. 



During the late storm a strange thing happened 

 out in the Willows. The trees on the lands of Norris 

 Plummer and Mr. Arthur were covered with lizards, 

 and some were also found lodged in the branches 

 and stuck on the ends of the lately cut limbs of the 

 trees. The lizards varied from two to four Inches In 

 length. As to how they came there no one can posi- 

 tively tell, but it is the opinion of those who saw 

 them, that they must have rained down. This looks 

 a little like a canard, but Mr. Plummer and H. L. 

 Dart are ready to vouch for the truthfulness of the 

 statement. We have heard of angle worms and toads 

 falling during a thunder storm, but this Is the first 

 instance of a shower of lizards.— iSon J^ote (Cat.) 

 Herald. 



The "toad shower" seems to be a common 

 occurrence, at least the phenomenon is famil- 

 iar to many persons living in proximity to 

 shallow ponds or streams of water. When 

 the people say toad, they also ■mean toad. This 

 is one of the animals so well known, that it is 

 seldom if ever confounded with the frog. We 

 have seen the ground covered with small hop- 

 ping toads, many times just after a heavy 

 shower, while we reside'd in proximity to the 

 shallows of the Susquehanna— on "Bar and 

 Beach and Bank," and also a quarter or 

 a half mile from the bank, and under such cir- 

 cumstances too, as to lead us to the supposition 

 that they had been first taken up in a "water- 

 spout," before they had come down in a 

 shower. There is nothing either impossible or 

 improbable in this, and yet we are compelled 



