THE TOTING NATURALIST. 



197 



and belly and gradually worked off in two pieces, and subsequently eaten. 

 The sloughing is preceded by several days of semi-torpidity ; the respiration 

 is almost arrested, and the animals sometimes die during this period. The 

 mythical toadstone of magical curative power, supposed to be in the head of 

 the toad, probably originated in the marvellous beauty of the toad's eye, which 

 may not inaptly be compared to a jewel. 



The toad is decidedly a nocturnal feeder, hiding during the day in out of 

 the way places, as crevices in rockeries, under stones, and in hedge cops; its 

 food comprises woodlice, slugs, worms, caterpillars, and insects generally. 

 This is so well known to gardeners, that they treat this usually despised 

 animal with much kindness ; protecting and encouraging its presence in 

 greenhouses, where it renders them the greatest service by keeping down 

 those insect pests. A friend of mine wishing to know the best means by which 

 to lessen the woodlice in his greenhouse, which was over-run with these pests, 

 I gave him three toads. In less than a week they had freed his greenhouse 

 from the woodlice, and now as a matter of course he regards the toads with a 

 considerable amount of affection. This simple illustration of the services 

 rendered to man by the toad, should lead us to protect rather than to destroy 

 this animal, the victim of so much superstitious persecution : and should 

 enable us to see clearly that man cannot destroy the balance of nature with- 

 out subsequent inconvenience. In captivity the toad is the most tamable of 

 ] our British JBatrachians ; becoming in fact so tame, that one of mine will 

 allow itself to be carried on the hand to the window, whence it will take flies 

 with the greatest coolness. Toads will take none but living food. I feed 

 mine principally on worms and maggots, of which they consume large quan- 

 tities. When a toad is at rest, it squats on the ground, and appears to take 

 little notice of its surroundings ; but if a worm approaches or comes within 

 the range of vision (which, by-the-bye is extensive, owing to the position of 

 the eyes) the whole aspect of the animal changes, and its attitude indicates 

 intense watchfulness. Elevating its head, it keenly scrutinizes each move- 

 ment of the worm and appears to enjoy the anticipation of the morsel more 

 than the actual swallowing of it. "When the worm is near enough it moves 

 its head forward and protrudes its tongue with the utmost swiftness, and 

 having seized the worm, it proceeds to swallow it, though more slowly than 

 the frog does, like which it also uses its fore legs or hands, if the worm be 

 large. As previously mentioned, toads are decidedly more terrestrial than 

 frogs, and hybernate in holes in hedgebanks, and similar situations, thus 

 offering a marked contrast to the mud-hybernation of the frogs. 



I must not omit to mention that even so uncanny a creature as the toad 

 can, and does, become possessed of musical powers, though his love-song is 



