1826 The Zoologist — September, 1869. 



kind of cold shudder went through me, as, with the utmost sang-froid 

 I could muster, I called for scissors, wherewith I cut off the fangs by 

 the roots ere I released the snake. It is the first and last snake I 

 ever so took up ; and I look upon the section of one of the fangs 

 (which 1 now possess, set up as a microscopical object) with a feeling 

 of thankfulness. The snake-charmer fell at my i'ant, and acknow- 

 ledged me his equal, and as knowing all things and possessed of all 

 power. T ordered of him three or four fine cobras, meaning to keep 

 them, and prepared a box for them : they came, and that very evening 

 all our servants gave notice to quit. In the night the snakes myste- 

 riously deceased in their box ; no inquiries were made ; no servants 

 left j — but I have never since attempted to keep venomous reptiles. 



C. HORNE. 

 London, April Hth, 1869. 



Collected Obwr rat ions on British Reptiles. 

 By Edward Newman. 



(Continued from Zool. S. S. 1719). 



The Toad [Bu/o vulgaris). 

 Rana Bufo, T.inneus, Systeina Natiircv, vol. i., p 253. 

 Bufo vulgaris, Dnmeril and Bibron, vol. viii., p. 671. Bell, 



History of British Reptiles, p. 115; Clermont^ Quadrupeds 



and Reptiles of Europe, p. 252. 



The toad has no teeth either on the maxillary bone or the palate : 

 the tongue is rounded at the tip, without any indication of a notch ; 

 the nose is blunt and rounded ; the entire surface of the body is 

 covered with a dry skin, very harsh and unpleasant to touch — a cha- 

 racter it derives from the presence of numerous warts, which are large 

 and placed irregularly on the back, smaller and more regular on the 

 belly. The eyes of the toad are prominent and remarkably bright; 

 they look like small gold rings, each with a black centre or pupil ; 

 each eye is susceptible of being turned separately but very slightly, 

 at the will of the animal, in any direction required — a feat that the 

 chameleon performs to admiration, and one that has been supposed 

 peculiar to that extraordinary animal. The exceeding brilliancy of 

 the toad's eye no doubt induced the most appropriate speculation 

 that the lark and toad had exchanged eyes; and also another very 



