BATRACHIA. 67 



nent, and several inhabit North America. They 

 differ from the true Frogs by having the tips of the 

 toes dilated into a little round disk, by means of 

 which they cling to leaves and twigs of trees, and 

 will even climb the glass of a window. They reside 

 in trees, pursuing insects, but spawn in water. 



Sufi,* the Toad. 



It is probably from the ugliness of its person, the 

 season of its activity, the places of its resort, and 

 the sluggishness of its motions, that the Toad in 

 all ages has been slandered and libelled as the very 

 concentration of venom and malice. It is certainly 

 of a most ungainly aspect, the warty skin, the broken 

 back, and the puffed-out belly, give it an appearance 

 eminently unpleasing : it is nocturnal in its habits, 

 frequenting gloomy, damp, and noisome retreats ; 

 its pace is a heavy crawl, and in its futile attempts 

 to leap it appears to break down in the midst and 

 come short of its aim. It has been esteemed poi- 

 sonous too ; but, though there is some foundation 

 for this belief, (we speak of our English species, 

 B. Vulgaris^) it is not in the way, nor to the extent 

 which would warrant the customary abhorrence with 

 which it is viewed. The Toad cannot, like the Viper, 

 poison its victim by biting it, nor by spitting at it, 

 nor by breathing on it, nor by looking at it, all of 

 which have been at times asserted and believed. 

 But there is a secretion produced from the warts 



* Its Latin name. 



