\ ' Miscellaneous. ^9 



covering, the epiphragmy had spread over its mouth, and with evident 

 signs that it was but recently formed. Rather surprised at this ap- 

 pearance, I removed the two specimens from the tablet, and placed 

 them in tepid water. After the lapse of ten minutes I had the plea- 

 sure of seeing the animal of one of the specimens begin to gradually 

 come forth, and in a few minutes more walk along the surface of the 

 basin in which it was placed. I immediately upon that removed it 

 from the water and placed it in a tumbler, where it began to crawl up 

 its side. Next day I supphed it with a small portion of cabbage-leaf, 

 of which it partook readily, though in small quantity. The animal 

 in the other shell was found to be dead. It is not the least curious 

 part of the story that the shell of the living animal was an injured 

 shell, and had been repaired by the animal before it was collected by 

 Mr. Lamb, though it evidently had not had time to perfect the mouth. 

 It is still alive and feeds readily, preferring cabbage-leaf to lettuce or 

 any other kind of food I have yet tried. It is now engaged in the 

 process of completing the mouth of its shell, having since March 

 made a small addition to its growth. It has been confined for some 

 time past in a long glass jar about 18 inches high, and it seems to 

 prefer climbing up to near the top of the jar to remaining at the bot- 

 tom. A week ago I placed in the jar as a companion to it a very 

 dark variety of the Helix hor- 

 tensis, and the two seem to live 

 quite harmoniously together. The 

 accompanying sketch by Miss 

 Waterhouse is one of the illustra- 

 tions for a little work on Recent 

 and Fossil Shells by Mr. Wood- 

 ward of the British Museum, 

 which is to form a part of Mr. Weale's series of Scientific and Prac- 

 tical Manuals. — W. Baird. 



British Museum, June 24th, 1850. 



WAY IN WHICH TOADS SHED THEIR SKINS. 



At vol. V. p. 430 of the * Annals ' for this year is an account, by W. 

 Turner, of the manner in which he saw a toad shed its skin. This 

 statement does not materially diifer from that given in Bell's * British 

 Reptiles,' except in one point. Bell describes the cuticle as " pushed 

 by the two hands into the mouth in a little ball, and swallowed at a 

 single gulp." I have this morning witnessed an exhibition of this 

 remarkable oeconomy in the disposal of his old clothes, by one of the 

 large Jersey toads, of which I received two Hving specimens a few 

 days ago. Observing the back parts of the animal to be bright and 

 moist, and seeing it raise its hand, as if to scratch its back, I at once 

 perceived what was going on, and summoned my family to witness 

 the process. The toad continued, at interv^als of a few seconds, to 

 open its mouth wide, and at the same time to assist the removal of 

 the cuticle, by stretching its arm and contorting its body, much in 

 the way we see our amateur boatmen of the Cam divest thera^ 

 selves of those seamless knitted jackets, which they pass over 

 their heads. A great part of the cuticle had already disappeared 



