134 OUR EEPTILES. 



the upper portion of the body is studded, are 

 of a reddish brown. In its habits it is far less 

 sluggish than the common toad, sometimes in- 

 dulging in an extempore run, and altogether is 

 far more attractive. Mr. W. R. Tate, from whom 

 we have received specimens, has, for some time, 

 kept them in conjunction with other reptiles. 

 He says, " They always go in pairs, and seem to 

 be more delicate than the common species, as 

 mine scarcely ever enter the water in cold weather, 

 which the latter frequently do. I find them most 

 commonly on sunny days, where a pond has 

 nearly dried up. Mine are now tame enough to 

 eat out of my hand. Their food consists of 

 worms and insects, which they catch by their 

 tongues in the same way as the other species. 

 Their croak is hoarser than that of the toad. A 

 person inhabiting a disused semaphore, on a 

 heath in Surrey, says that they do great mischief 

 in his garden, by digging their holes in the seed- 

 beds. These holes are dug straight for a few 

 inches, and then there is a passage at right 

 angles to the perpendicular one, in which the 

 reptile lies. The men call them " Goldenbacks." 

 In the eastern counties, where we are told that 

 this species is sufficiently common to be recognized 

 by the country people as distinct, it is called the 

 " Walking Toad." It is a matter of history that 

 superstitions and old wives' fables are by no 



