360 NATURAL HISTORY. 



when they are kept in hot-houses as destroyer-* of insects. Seeing a beetle or a grub, they remain 

 stationary, the red iris of their eye looking very bright, and as soon as the prey conies near enough 

 the mouth opens, and the tongue, which is free behind and attached within the lower jaw in front, 

 is turned out and the prey is turned in, or quickly glued to the sticky surface. The mouth remains 

 closed, and as the victim is swallowed whole, the eyes stare with satisfaction. A good-sized bee is 

 taken, and sometimes a convulsive action denotes that either it has stung as it has gone down, or else 

 that it is especially nice. A worm may be swallowed and partly return, but the Toad uses its fore- 

 limbs to crowd it into the mouth again. 



In the spring time they betake themselves to the water, and the eggs are laid in strings of three 

 or four feet in length, each egg being covered with a glutinous coat, so that the long line is about one- 

 eighth or one-sixth of an inch in thickness. Usually the laying is later than that of the Frog, and 

 the Tadpole is smaller and darker, and it is not until autumn that they come to land as little Toads. 

 Every now and then the adult Toads cast their skin, and come out brighter in colour, and cleaner. They 

 swallow this delicate cuticle, a process which does not take place in the Frogs, who lose it piece 

 by piece. Toads have always been considered with aversion by the public, and their general 

 character has been most blackened by those whose imagination transcends their experience. . They are 

 very useful animals, and they destroy a great number of injurious insects, and their good lives should 

 be considered in relation to the stories about their misdeeds, all of which are false, and the outcome of 

 prejudiced minds. 



They endure for a long time without food, and they hibernate by getting into the mud, down 

 cracks, and into holes. 



The stories about Toads being found in stones, in mines, and in trees, in positions where they 

 must have been kept from air and food for years or centuries, are not true. Dr. Bucklancl proved by 

 direct experiment that no Toad can live for two years without food and air. 



The alleged venom of the Common Toad, so long a subject of popular belief, has been rejected by 

 many modern naturalists, among whom Cuvier may be particularly mentioned. The noxious matter 

 is in follicles, chiefly in the true skin and about the head and shoulders, but they are also distributed 

 generally over the body, and on the extremities. The Toads possess, besides, two glandular masses 

 (parotids), which, when pressed, exude through small holes a yellowish thick humour of a musky 

 odour. Pressure causes this fluid to exude or even spurt out to a considerable distance. Dr. 

 Davy found it extremely acrid when applied to the tongue, resembling the extract of aconite in 

 this respect, and it even acts upon the hands. A chicken inoculated with it was not affected. Dr. 

 Davy conjectures that this " venom " is a defence to the Toad from carnivorous animals, and we have 

 seen a dog, when urged to attack one, after some hesitation drop the animal from its mouth, in a 

 manner that left no doubt that he had felt the effects of this excretion. In a Brazilian species 

 the secretion acts fatally on chickens when introduced into their veins. 



The Natter-Jack, or Rush Toad,* is not common. It is found in some places around London, or 

 rather was fifty years ago, and White states, in his "History of Selborne," that they were more often 

 seen in his garden than the ordinary Toad. This Toad is of a light yellowish-brown colour, clouded 

 with a dull olive, and there is a bright yellow line running down the back. It is a lively Toad, and 

 it runs with the body considerably raised, and it is hardy, being often found in dry situations. 

 Indeed, Bell notices their favourite resort at Selborne to be under a shallow layer of turf 

 covering the top of a wall of a hen-pen, which is exposed to the summer sun, and is the hottest 

 part of the garden. It is less timid than the Common Toad, and its eyes are more prominent, and 

 are elevated above the head. The warts of the skin are larger than those of the Toad, but the 

 glandular swellings are less on the head. Claiis states that it has large glands on the legs, and 

 that it runs badly ; nevertheless, it often takes to the water at night, and especially to those lakes. 

 and ponds where there are reeds and rushes. They emit a smell not unlike the smoke of gunpowder. 

 The male makes as much noise as a Frog, and cries Glouk, glouk. Eggs are laid in the water, and 

 the Tadpoles are amongst the smallest, their metamorphosis not lasting much more than six or seven 

 weeks. The Yariable,t or Green Toad, found in France, has hind limbs and feet nearly as large as 

 those of the Frog. It has an imperfect vocal sac, and calls Me, me. It swims admirably. 



* Bufo calamita. + Bufo variabilis. 



