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. 
About 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-fi.sh 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, 
u.nd in an oval-shaped hole a toad was found alive 
und well. How long, then, was the toad living in 
that lump of coal ? 
