Quadrupeds . — Rep tiles . 3265 



and the greatest profusion and variety of species ; and all will agree 

 that for really magnificent scenery, and bold, and wild, and grand 

 views, nothing can surpass the rocky mountains and waterfalls, the 

 fjelds and fjords of " gamle Norge." 



Alfred Charles Smith. 



Old Park, Devizes, 



September 2, 1851. 



Note on the Water-rat. — Here are a great number of water-rats, which are very 

 troublesome in destroying the banks. Some time ago I found some laurels, about 4 

 feet high, in a dying state, and on examining them, I found that the stem had been 

 gnawed through just above the roots, which must have been done by the rats, as the 

 marks of their teeth were perfectly evident. They have also destroyed some of the 

 white water-lilies, which I have been at some trouble to plant. They eat the leaves 

 as soon as they get near to the surface. My gardener told me such was the case, but 

 I did not believe it, until I found a piece of the leaf floating about, bearing evident 

 marks of teeth and claws. — Samuel Gurney^jun. ; Carshalton, August 4, 1851. 



Toad found in a Flint. — The Academie des Sciences, in its last sitting, was occu- 

 pied with a grave question of what, in homely language, may be called a " toad in a 

 hole." In digging a well at Blois, in June last, some workmen drew up from about 

 a yard beneath the surface, a large flint, weighing about 14 it>s., and on striking it a 

 blow with a pickaxe it split in two, and discovered, snugly ensconced in the very cen- 

 tre, a large toad. The toad seemed for a moment greatly astonished, but jumped out 

 and rather rapidly crawled away. He was seized and replaced in the hole, where he 

 settled himself down very quietly. The stone and toad, just as they were, were sent 

 to the Society of Sciences at Blois, and became immediately the subject of curious at- 

 tention. First of all, the flint, fitted together with the toad in the hole, was placed in 

 a cellar and embedded in moss. There it was left for some time. It is not known if 

 the toad ate, but it is certain that he made no discharge of any kind. It was found 

 that if the top of the stone were cautiously removed in a dark place he did not stir, 

 but that if the removal were effected in the light, he immediately got uut and ran 

 away. If he were placed on the edge of the flint, he would crawl into his hole and fix 

 himself comfortably in. He gathered his legs beneath his body, and it was observed 

 that he took especial care of one of his feet, which had been slightly hurt in one of 

 his removals. The hole is not one bit larger than the body, except a little where the 

 back is. There is a sort of ledge on which his mouth reposes, and the bones of the 

 jaw are slightly indented, as if from long resting on a hard substance. Not the slight- 

 est appearance of any communication whatsoever between the centre and the outside 

 of the stone can be discovered, so that there is no reason to suppose that he could have 

 drawn any nourishment from the outside. The committee, consisting of three emi- 

 nent naturalists, one of whom has made toads his peculiar study for years, made no 

 secret of their belief that the toad had been in that stone for hundreds, perhaps thou- 

 sands of years; but how he could have lived without air, or food, or water, or move- 



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