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SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[IvIab-Cii 1, 18G3. 



rURTHER EXPERIENCES WITH TOADS. 



My observations relate chiefly to the haljits of the 

 toad whilst feediHg, and may be taken as a second 

 chapter of E. D.'s very interesting paper (p. 12). 



My toads, two in number, had lived for a year or 

 two in a hothouse which was devoted to the growth 

 of pineapples. They were, I think, first placed there 

 purposely by the gardener, v/ho found them very 

 useful in destroying insects. I used frequently 

 to visit the place and amuse myself with feeding the 

 toads with worms, and wdth watching their habits. 

 The heat of the place, which vras considerable, did 

 not seem to inconvenience them in the least,_for 

 they were remarkably active, and of a large size ; 

 but at the same time they seemed greatly toenjoy 

 the artificial showers when the plants were syringed, 

 and would come out from their hiding-places to be 

 rained upon. They usually remained amongst the 

 pineapple plants, which grew on a bed raised some 

 four feet from the ground, wdiere they sat under the 

 long leaves ; but when the place was watered they 

 would not unfrequently jump down and lie upon the 

 cool, Avet tiles of the floor, spreading themselves out 

 as fla,t as possible. How they climbed up to the 

 pine-bed again I cannot say, for I never saw them 

 do, it. 



They evinced very little shyness, taking worms 

 readily when offered to them. When feeding, their 

 actions were very curious. Upon placing a worm 

 about three inches from a toad_, it would instantly 

 iix its attention upon it. Then its whole appearance 

 was changed. Instead of the dull, lethargic-looking 

 animal that the toad generally appears, it was all 

 vivacity ; the body was instantly thrown somev^'hat 

 I'ack, and the head bent a little dowaiwards, its 

 bright eye riveted upon its prey; and though _ the 

 toad was perfectly still as long as the worm remained 

 motionless or nearly so, yet its attitude and its eager 

 gaze were full of life and animation. Directly the 

 worm made any active movement, the toad would 

 dart forward, open its mouth from ear to ear, and 

 seize it, generally about the middle. A curious 

 scene now took place ; mouth and feet went to work 

 in good earnest ; the worm was gulped down by a 

 series of spasmodic jerks, trying to make its escape 

 every time the mouth was opened, the toadthrusting 

 it back all the time, and forcing it down its throat 

 by the aid of its fore feet. Altogether it was rather 

 a disgusting sight, and gave one_ the idea that the 

 toad is an uncommonly greedy animal. 



Having got the Avorm down was by no means a 

 reason that it woald stay there, for I have some- 

 times seen a worm rather larger than usual make its 

 vmy up again; however, the feet would immediately 

 go to work a second time, and the toad would at 

 length remain the undisputed possessor of its own 

 dinner. 



Erequcntly I used to cheat the toads by moving 

 a_ small twig before them. They would seize it 

 direci,ly,_ imagining it to be a worm, and would 

 regard it with stupid astonishment when they dis- 

 covered their mistake. 



I never had tlie good fortune to see my friends 

 take beetles or other small prey ; but these the gar- 

 dener told me were never seized wdtli the mouth, 

 but were caught with unerring aira. upon the point 

 of the long tongue. 



I observe that toads will sometimes establisli 

 tlicmsclves inside a cucuraber-fi'ame, where no doubt 

 they are very useful in destroying ants, spiders, and 

 other small insects that vi^ould otherwise be very 

 troublesome. 11. 11. 



SLUG OR SNAIL. 



In answer to " W. Q. C."— What is the difference 

 between a snail and a slug ? 



The most obvious distinction between a slug and 

 a snail is, that the body of the former is elongated 

 and naked, Avhile in the latter it is more or less 

 spiral, and covered by a more or less spiral shell. 



The gasteropods, animals such as the garden 

 snail, whelk, and slug, have a distinct foot placed 

 under the body for crawling, and have a distinct 

 head with tentacles, or, as they are commonly called, 

 horns. They are divided into two great divisions — 

 Istly, those which breathe by means of gills, as the 

 v>'helk,_ and chiefly inhabit the sea — some, however, 

 occur in our ponds and rivers ; 2nd]y, those which 

 breathe by means of a lung, as the garden snail and 

 pond snail, which latter, though living in the water, 

 are obliged to come to the surface for the purpose 

 of inhaling the air. 



Is ow, in both these divisions are animals provided 

 with shells, and others without them; to the first 

 we give the name of snails, and the second we call 

 slugs. And thus Ave have marine snails, as the 

 whelk ; slugs of the sea, as the sea hai-e ; land and 

 fresh-water snails, as the garden snail and pond 

 shells ; and land slugs, which, however, are more 

 generally known as slugs. 



With regard to the land snails and slugs, which 

 are very similarly organized, there occur many con- 

 necting links, from the perfectly naked and elongate 

 slu.ij to the spirally-coiled garden-snail, capable of 

 retiring within its shell. The land gasteropods of 

 our own island furnish us with ample iUustratious 

 of forms intermediate betA\'een these two extremes. 

 In the first place, there is the common black slug 

 or land sole {Arioii afer), wdthout any shelly covering; 

 then there naturally follows the spotted slug (Lima.v 

 maxlnms) of our cellars and gardens, A\'ith the same 

 slug-like body, but is provided Avith a rudimentary 

 shell— where ? Mark that oblong, shield-like ele- 

 vation, immediately behind the head, as the animal 

 is cra,wling; beneath that you may find a thin, shelly 

 plate — this is the rudimentary shell. In a very re- 

 markable slug {Tesfacellus haliotldeui), a small ear- 

 shaped shell is placed externally at the hinder 

 extremity of the animal. _]\Iore markedly, there is 

 the little green, glassy snail (T'itrina pellucida), so 

 frequent in our woods amongst vrioss and decaying 

 leaves, and rendered conspicuous by its green, 

 glassy shell ; it is intermediate in form between the 

 slug and the snail, for it has the shield-like protu- 

 berance of the one and the spiral and external shell 

 of the other; and further, some of the species of 

 the genus {J'itriua) to Avhich that snail belongs can- 

 not T/ithdraw themselves into their shells. 



R. T. 



The Butterfly and the Nettle.— Watch the 

 beauteous Vanessa Atalanta butterfly, loveiy as the 

 rose over Avhich she flutters— see her sporting in the 

 balmy air as if she had derived her origin from 

 heaven, and was returning thither. But Avlien she 

 has to provide for her future progeny, does slie 

 deposit her eggs on tlie brilliant flowers where she 

 spent her bridal ? No! she retires to the nettles, 

 and there safely leaves the infant embryo of a future 

 race secure amidst tlie armature of the TJrtica;. Thus 

 a host of insects are sustained by an apparently use- 

 less weed, which is itself kept wdthin due bounds by 

 the caterpillars that feed upon it.—Ethci;! Lees. 



