1848-49 POPULAR FALLACIES DESTROYED 325 



or sea-lion. On February 22, 1849, he had an 

 opportunity of personally explaining his views to 

 the Prince, who attended one of his lectures, 

 and went round the museum afterwards with him 

 accompanied by Sir Robert Peel. 



i\bout this time there was another sea-serpent 

 seen, of which the particulars were sent to Owen 

 by the Duke of Northumberland. This Owen 

 demonstrated to be the ribbon-fish from the draw- 

 ing which was sent. ' Punch ' soon had a parody on 

 the subject — 



Who killed the sea-serpent ? 



' I,' said Professor Owen. 



' Scotched, not killed,' was Owen's comment 

 on this. Another popular delusion which he set 

 himself to dispel was the idea that a toad would 

 live years, if not centuries, shut up without air or 

 food in coal or rock. In defence of this it was 

 urged that in breaking up lumps of rock, &c, 

 which had never been disturbed before, toads 

 occasionally emerged, not only alive, but in excel- 

 lent health and condition. Mrs. Owen relates 

 how she detected an ingenious fraud which was 

 got up ' with intent to deceive ' her husband. 



' A piece of stratified coal sent from Yorkshire, 

 together with a black-coloured toad, and the story 

 is that this lump of coal was split open accidentally, 

 and in an oval-shaped hole a toad was found alive 

 and well. How long, then, was the toad living in 

 that lump of coal ? 



