B U F 



fecm capable of being delivered of them without fome alli- 

 ance. The fccond was, that the male was mounted on the 

 back of the female, and exerted all his ilrenglh with his 

 hii.Jcr feet in pulling out the eggs, whilft his fore feet em- 

 braced her brcalh 



" In order to apprehend the manner of his working in the 

 uchvery of the female, the reader mull obferve that the paws 

 cf thefe animals, as well thofe of the foic-feet, as of the 

 hinder, are divided into feveral toes which can perform the 

 office of lin;^crs. 



" It mull be remarked, likewifo, tliat the I'cjgs of this 

 fpecies of toads are included each in a membranous coat 

 that is very firm, in which is contained the embryo : and 

 that thtfe eggs, which are oblong, and about two lines in 

 length, being faflcmd one to another by a Ihort, but very 

 llrong cord, form a kind of chaplct, the beads of which are 

 dillant from each other about the half of their length. It 

 i; by drawing this cord with his paw, that the male performs 

 the funftions of a midwife, and acquits himfelf in it witii a 

 dexterity that one would not expedt from fo lumpilh an 

 animal. 



" The prcfence of the obferver did not a little difcompofe 

 the male : for fome time lie flopped fhort, and threw on the 

 curious hnpirtmcnt a fixed look that marked liis difquietnefs 

 and fear ; but he foon returned to his work with more pre- 

 cipitation than before, and a moment after he appeared un- 

 determined whether he fhould continue it or not. The fe- 

 male Hkewife difcovered her uneafinefs at the fight of the 

 ilranger, by motions that inttrrnpted fomctimes the male in 

 his operation. At length, whether the filence and (leady 

 pollure of the fpeflator had difllpated their fear, or tliat the 

 cafe was urgent, the male refumed his work with the lame 

 vigour, and fuccefsfully performed his funftion." 



The hideous appearance of the toad, Mr. Pennant remarks, 

 is fuch as to have rendered it in all ages an obji.it of hirror, 

 and the origin of mod tremendous inventions. .(Elian makes 

 its venom fo potent, that, bafiiillc-like, it conveyed deatii by 

 its very look and breath ; but Juvenal is content with making 

 the Roman ladies who were weary of their hufbands, form a 

 potion from its entrails, in order to get rid of the good 

 man : 



«' Occurrit matrona potens, quae molle calenum 



Porreflura viro mifcet fitiente rnbetam." Sat. I. 



This opinion begat others of a more dreadful nature ; for 



in after- times fuperilition gave it preternatural powers, and 



made it a principal ingredient in the incantations of nofturnal 



hags : 



" Toad that under the cold (lone 

 Days and nights ha*;, thirty-one, 

 Swelter'd venom deeping got, 

 Boil thou, firll i' th' charmed pot." 



Shakfpcare. 

 But thefe, and other fimilar fables of its venomous pro- 

 perties, Mr. Pennant obferves in another place, have been 

 long fince exploded. The notion of its being a poifonous 

 animal, he conceives to have arifen from its exceffive defor- 

 mity, joined to the faculty it has of ernitting a juice from 

 its pimples, and a duflcy liquid from its hind-parts. That 

 it pofTctfes any noxious qualities, this writer was unable to 

 bring forward proofs in the fmalleft degree fatisfaftory, 

 though \ve have heard many ftrange relations on that point. 

 On the contrary, he knew feveral of his friends who have 

 taken them into their naked hands, and held llum long, 

 without receiving the leall injury. It is well known that 

 quacks have eaten them, and have befides fqueezed their 

 juices into a glafs and drank them with impunity. We may 

 alfo fay, that thefe reptiles are a common food to many 



BUT 



animals, Aich as buzzards, owls, Norfolk plovers, duck.?, and 

 fnakcs, neither of which, Mr. Pennant concludes, would 

 touch them were they in any degree noxious. 



It appears, however, from the experiments of Laurcnti, 



that_ although the toad does not poflel's any poifonous pro- 

 perties, it is not perfedly innoxious to the fmaller tribe of 

 animals. He found that fmall lizards, on biting the com- 

 mon toad, were for fome time difordercd and paralytic, and 

 even appeared dead, tliough tiiey completely recovered after- 

 wards, lie alio obferved, that dogs, on fcizing a toad, and 

 carrying it for f.ime little time in their mouth, will appear 

 to be alieCttd with a very flight fwelling of the lips, accom- 

 panied by an increafed evacuation of faliva ; the mere cfh <£t 

 of the .lightly acrimonious fluid wiiich tlictoad, on irritation, 

 exudes from its flcin, and whicli Ictms at leafl to be pre duc- 

 tive of no d.mgtrous fymptoms in fuch animals as happen to 

 tafte or fwallow it. For a further account of this creature, 

 fee the articlts Toad, and Rana. 



BUFONIA, ill Botany, faid by Dr. Smith, in Encrhfli 

 Botany, to have liLcn fo namid by Liima:us after the cele- 

 brated Count Buft'on at the inlligation of Sauvaj^e. but with 

 the invidious addition of the trivial name tenuifolia, to ex- 

 prefs the Jlendeniefs of that great zoologill's claim to a 

 botanical honour, and with tl.e malicious omiflion of one/" 

 in the generic name ; whence it fecms rather to be dnivid 

 from the I-atin word Bufo which fignilies a toad. Ventenat 

 adlualiy adopts this etymology, and lays the name was given 

 it on account of its ijrowing in marjhy places. Dr. WTther- 

 ing feems to have entertained the fame idea when he called 

 it toad-grafs. Gsertntr, Schreber, Profcffor Martyn, and 

 Dr. Smith have added the other/; but we have preferred 

 the orig nal fptlliiig of Linnsus, which lias been followed 

 by molt other authors. Linn. Reiehard i8o. VViUd. 

 260. Gaert. i;4j. Juff. p. jco. Vent. vol. iii. p. 238. - 

 Clafs and order, telramliia (llgytila. Nat. ord. Caryobhyl- 

 hj'., Jufs. Vent. 



Gen. Char. Cal. perianth four-ltavcd, ere£l, permanent : 

 leaflets awl-(haped, keeled, membranaceous at the margin. 

 Car. petals four, oval, eridl, equal, fliorter than the calyx. 

 Slam, filaments four, equal, the length of the germ. An- 

 thers twin. Pijl. germ ovate, compreffed : flyles two, the 

 length of the flamens : Hignia fimple. PovV.'capfule oval, 

 comprefild, one celled, two-valved. Sm/slwo, oval, com.- 

 preii'ed with a fwtlhng, convex on one lide. 



EfT. Char. Ca/yx four-ltaved : />i7u/.f four: cojyfiih ow- 

 celled, two-valved, with two feeds. 



Obf. It is fometimes deficient ia the number of its 

 flamens. 



Species. I. B. ieiiuifulia. Linn. Sanvage Monf. 141, 

 Ger. Prov. 400. Villars Dauph. 650. Hudfon H. Aug. 

 72. With. cd. 3. V. ii. p. 305. Smith H. Brit. v. i. 

 p. 191. Ga;rt. Tab. lay. f. i. La Marck PI. 87. f. i. 

 bad. Eng. hot. 13 13. " Stem panicled ; flowers lateral 

 and terminal; calyx firiated." La Marck lllufh annual. 

 Stems one or more, fix or eight inches high, ficnder, ercft, 

 branched, round, leafy, fmooth. Leaves ereft, oppofite, 

 awl-fhapcd, three ribbed connate, with a broad fhcathiiig 

 bafe. Floivers white, peduncled, forming a fpikelike pani- 

 cle. Calyx-Ienves, lanceolate, with a white edge. Germrn 

 fupenor ; yv/ii fliort, dillant ; Jlinmas capitate, i'trt/i large 

 and rough. A native of tlry fituations in Spain and tiie 

 fouthern provinces of France, which invalidates Veiuenat's 

 reafon for deriving the generic name from bufo, a toad. Its 

 chief claim to a place in the Hnglifli Flora refls on the au- 

 thority of Plukenet, wlio has certainly figured it, and af- 

 ferts that it was found by the fea-fidc near Bcfton in Lin- 

 colnfhire. On this ground Ray, who had feen it near 



MoiupcUier, 



