The Toad. 
507 
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THE TOAD, (Bufo vulgaris,) 
Whose very name seems to carry with it something of 
an opprobrious meaning, is not unworthy the attention 
of the observer of nature ; for, though prejudice and 
false associations have affixed a stigma on certain 
species of animals, none of the works of our Creator 
are despicable, but all, the more minutely they are ex- 
amined, the greater claim they are found to have to our 
admiration. Somewhat like the frog in the body, it also 
resembles that animal in its habits ; but the frog leaps, 
while the Toad crawls. It is an error to suppose the 
Toad to be a noxious and venomous animal ; it is as 
harmless as the frog, and, like some of the human kind, 
only labours under the stigma of undeserved calumny. 
Several stories have beeA related of its spitting poison, 
or knowing how to expel the venom it may have re- 
ceived from the spider or any other animals ; but- these 
fables have been long exploded. A curious and yet in- 
explicable phenomenon is that Toads have been said to 
be found alive in the centre of large blocks of stone, 
where they must have subsisted without food and respi- 
ration for a number of years. The following are recorded 
examples: In the year 1719, M. Hubert, professor of 
philosophy at Caen, was witness to a living Toad being 
taken from the solid trunk of an elm -tree. It was lodged 
exactly in the centre, and filled the whole of the space 
that contained it. The tree was in every other respect 
firm and sound. Dr. Bradley saw a Toad taken from 
the trunk of a large oak. In the year 1 733, a live Toad 
was discovered b}' M. Gray burg in a hard and solid block 
