NOTES AND QUERIES. 431 



Snakes, in which the poison is secreted by a modified salivary gland, he 

 states that in the Toads and Salamanders the poison is secreted by glands 

 in the skin, and it may be obtained for examination by scraping them with 

 a blunt metallic implement. In the Toad the secretion is thick, yellow, 

 and adhesive. It retains its poisonous character when dried for at least a 

 year, and possibly longer. As a poison it does not appear to be particularly 

 virulent when it is taken into the stomach of another animal, such as a 

 Rabbit or Dog ; but injected into a wound it is very active, and causes 

 ulceration or mortification at the point where it is injected ; it also produces 

 vomiting, convulsions, paralysis of all the voluntary muscles, and the 

 uncertain gait which follows such a state of things. It is noted that 

 all Toads are not equally poisonous. The Italian Toad, which closely 

 resembles, if it is not identical with, our Natterjack — distinguished by a 

 yellow line down the centre of the back — appears to be more poisonous than 

 the French species, which is identical with the common English Toad. 

 In Moquin-Tandon's ' Elements of Medical Zoology' a good deal of informa- 

 tion may be found regarding the poison of the Toad. Finches and Linnets 

 inoculated with it will die in about five or six minutes. Even Dogs and 

 Goats, under whose skin small portions of the poison are injected, usually 

 die in less than an hour, the excitement which is produced in the first 

 instance being followed by depression, vomiting, convulsions, and death. 

 This poison is fatal to Frogs, even if only placed upon the back of these 

 animals, but on the Toads themselves it has no action. A Dog, as is 

 known, will seldom attack a Toad a second time, and some have been known 

 to be killed by simply biting one. 



FISHES. 



Occurrence of the Opah on the Norfolk Coast. — Mr. Patterson 

 informs me that a very beautiful specimen of the Opah, Lampris luna, 

 was taken alive in the breakers near Caister, Great Yarmouth, on the 16th 

 of October last. It was sold at the Fish Wharf, by auction, and was 

 purchased by Mr. J. R. Nutman, for whom it is being preserved by 

 Mr. Lowne. The total length was thirty-four inches. — T. Southwell 

 (Norwich) 



SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 



Entomological Society of London. 



October 7, 1891. — Dr. David Sharp, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the 

 chair. 



The Chairman referred to the death, on the 14th September last, of 

 Mr. E. W. Janson, who had been a Member of the Society since 1843, 



