TOADS. 55 



dovecots. When I first saw Northamptonshire, Cambridge- 

 shire, and Huntingdonshire, and the Fens of Lincolnshire, I 

 was amazed at the number of spires which presented themselves 

 in every point of view. As an admirer of prospects, I have 

 reason to lament this want in my own country, for such objects 

 are very necessary ingredients in an elegant landscape. 



What you mention with respect to reclaimed toads raises 

 my curiosity.* An ancient author, though no naturalist, has 



* There have been many instances of toads being tamed. Mr Arscott 

 mentions one which lived upwards of thirty-five years. Not the leas?t 

 wonderful part of the history of the toad, is the circumstance of its being 

 frequently found alive in the heart of solid rocks, and internal cavities 

 of trees. In 1777, Herissant undertook some experiments to ascertain 

 the truth of what has been related on this point. He shut up three toads 

 in sealed boxes in plaster, and they were deposited in the Academy of 

 Sciences. At the end of eighteen months, the boxes were opened, and 

 one of these toads was dead, but the other two were still living. Nobody 

 could doubt the authenticity of this fact; yet the experiments were 

 severely criticised, as well as the observations which they seemed to 

 confirm. It was contended that the air must have come to these animals 

 through some imperceptible hole, which escaped the notice of the 

 observer. Some probability was given to this supposition by the 

 researches of Dr Edwards, published in 1817. He has observed, that 

 toads shut up totally in plaster, and absolutely deprived of air, lived for 

 a greater number of days, and much longer than those which were 

 forced to remain under water. This certainly is one of the most extra- 

 ordinary phenomena which the history of the physiology of reptiles can 

 furnish, and seems to be an exception to the rule that air is indispensable 

 to animal life. It appears, however, that in the above instance, some air 

 did penetrate the plaster, as Dr Edwards afterwards proved by the fact, 

 that as soon as the plaster which enclosed them was placed un'der water, 

 the toads perished. The opponents of Herissant were therefore justified to 

 a certain extent in their scepticism. Still the facts of animals existing 

 so long a time under such circumstances, even with a little air, is most 

 surprising, and calculated to produce very strange reflections. If these 

 reptiles lived in this manner longer than they would have done in the 

 open dry air, the reason must be, that they had lost less by transpiration ; 

 and if they died much later than they would have done in water, it 

 was because the air certainly had some access to them. 



Professor Buckland has recently made some experiments, in order to 

 throw light on this obscure subject. Two blocks of stone were taken, 

 one of porous oolite limestone, and one of a compact silicious sand- 

 stone; twelve cells, five inches wide, and six inches deep, were cut 

 in the sandstone, and twelve others, five inches wide, and twelve 

 inches dep, in the limestone. In November, 1825, one live toad was 

 placed in each of the twenty-four cells, its weight being previously 

 ascertained with care., A glass plate was placed over each cell as a 

 cover, with a circular slate above to protect it ; and the two blocks of 

 stone, with the immured toads, were buried in Dr Buckland's garden 

 under three feet of earth. They were uncovered after the lapse of a year, 



