34 
TOAD. 
these creatures for relief from one of the most 
horrible of all diseases, and great numbers of toads 
have been sacrificed at the cancered breast, with- 
out producing any of those permanently good ef- 
fects which were at first expected from them. The 
reptiles were each tied up in a linen bag, all ex- 
cept the head, which was applied to the breast, 
where the animal immediately fastened and sucked 
till he dropped off. This operation constantly 
proved fatal to the toads. They all swelled ex- 
ceedingly, and some dropped dead from the wound, 
while others lived for some time afterwards. 
We learn from the Count de la Cepede, that at 
Carthagena and Porto Bello in America, toads are 
so extremely numerous, that in rainy weather not 
only the marshy grounds, but the gardens, courts, 
and streets, are almost entirely covered with them ; 
insomuch that the inhabitants have conceived that 
each drop of rain is changed into a toad. In these 
countries this creature grows to a great size, the 
least being six inches in length. If it happens to 
rain during the night, they all quit their hiding- 
places, and crawl about in such inconceivable num- 
bers as almost literally to touch each other, and to 
hide the surface of the earth, so that the people can 
hardly stir out of doors without trampling them un- 
der foot at every step. 
Many stories have been told of toads found alive 
in the middle of blocks of stone, where they have 
been supposed to have lived for ages, and some of 
these accounts are seemingly well attested ; yet we 
