152 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN. Jrxr S. 1S5S. 
off a second swarm, which was also hived into a Stewarton, 
1 and is doing well. The stock was capped on the 10th of May, 
! and I expect to take the cap about the 12th of June. Mr. 
Tegetmeier saw them both a few' evenings since, and envied me 
my luck.— Shirley Hibberd, Stoke Newington. 
[Another correspondent, residing at Camberwell, had a 
swarm on the 14th of May, and a second on the 20th of the 
same month.—E d.] 
CLISSOLD’S SEEDLING, alias LODGEMORE 
j SEEDLING APPLE. 
I shall be obliged, if you will allow me to correct an error 
; in, and add a few words to, a report of the Pomological So- 
j ciety, in one of your late numbers, respecting some dessert 
Apples sent by me to the last meeting, and favourably no- 
| ticed. To be quite sure of the history of the Apple in 
question, I wrote to Mr. Foster, of Stroud (not St rood), 
Gloucestershire, nurseryman, as the only man I knew' lik ely 
to be ‘able to give me any information on the subject. His 
answer is as follows :— 
“ The variety in question was raised from seed in Lodge- 
more garden, when occupied by the owner, Mr. Cook, about 
forty years ago, and called Lodgemore Seedling; I have never 
heard of any other name. The late Mr. Clissold, whom 
you know, afterwards rented the garden, and, I believe, more 
than once exhibited the fruit at Kingscote Horticultural 
j Exhibition. Many trees have been sent out during the last 
| fifteen years; but, certainly, there has not been any inquiry 
| or demand for it. Those I have sent out were sold in the 
ordinary way in a selection of dessert Apples. Excepting 
a gentleman from Sunbury (recommended, I believe, by you), 
no one has inquired for it; consequently, I have never grown 
a large stock of it.”— William Foster, Stroud. 
I believe I bought my first tree from the Mr. Clissold 
mentioned by Mr. Foster, and understood it was a seedling 
of his own,—hence the name “ Clissold’s Seedling.” I have 
had it in a bearing state, in my own garden, for ten or twelve 
years, and can say from experience that it is one of the best 
of our table Apples. Tree hardy ; a good bearer and keeper. 
I have some at this time in excellent condition, and likely to 
last for some time to come. As I have always found" my 
Apples keep well, in spite of bad seasons, I may mention, for 
the benefit of any who choose to profit by it, that I keep 
them in my wine-cellar (after great care in the gathering , a 
matter too little attended to). The spare bins are fitted with 
deal shelves (about six inches apart), on which I place the 
finest fruit, and the overplus in heaps, in other bins, or in 
baskets. I cannot say that I find much difference in the 
keeping of the two sets ; but the shelves allow inspection, 
and removal of decayed fruit, better than the heaps. As the 
cellar is through a store-closet, light, air, and frosts, are 
effectually excluded. 
I believe that Mr. Turner, of Slough, and Mr. Foster, of 
Stroud, will be able to supply plants of this fine Apple next 
season, if not this. To any member of the Pomological So- 
j ciety, I shall be happy to send grafts, on application at the 
proper season. 
I would beg, also, to recommend to the notice of Apple 
' fanciers, the following first-rate varieties of table Apples : — 
| The Ashmead Kernel, one ol the sweetest of late Apples ; 
i good bearer. Ihe Ord Apple, or Golden Drop, perhaps the 
richest of aU - small in size, but hardy, and good bearer. I 
cannot understand why these excellent sorts are not more 
generally grown, instead of the insipid rubbish so commonly 
met with. That fine kitchen Apple Dumelow's Seedling, 
alias Wellington, alias Normanton Warder,— one of the best 
and latest, is not half so much grown as its merit deserves. 
—John Rramhall, St. John's Vicarage, near King's Lynn. 
ON TOADS CHANGING COLOUR. 
I need hardly observe, when speaking of toads, that there 
are many erroneous notions entertained respecting them: 
but, perhaps, the one that is most harmless is, that they 
| change their colour according to the weather. During the 
past spring, we put six toads, nearly of a colour, which I con¬ 
sidered to be three of each sex, into a pail of water, with a 
view to learn something of the fecundation of their spawn, 
which is the most mysterious part of their history. I failed, 
however, in my object; but was somewhat surprised to find 
the toads change colour repeatedly, so that even the same 
toad was hardly twice alike. As they were kept in a hot¬ 
house, changes of the weather could hardly have affected 
them; nor could fear, they seemed at their ease; neither 
could it have happened from the effects of light, nor from any 
peculiar movement like that of the camelion : for, at the time 
I refer to, they were motionless. After more attention, I was 
led to think that the contraction and extension of their skin 
had some share in the change of shade, which may partly ac¬ 
count for toads being sometimes finely spotted like a leopard, 
while at other times their backs would be of a dirty ash- 
colour, and the spots hardly visible. 
Like all other reptiles, the toad changes its skin, which 
comes off by bits. To get it off the head, he is obliged to 
scrape and pat with his fore feet; and this has given rise to 
the fetor}' of swallowing it in a ball, which I am persuaded is 
quite false. When kept as a curiosity, he leaves portions of 
the skin on the sides of his glass prison. I also deny the 
poisonous properties in toads, even the little believed by "some 
recent writers. For instance, the Rev. J. G. Wood,"in his 
book “ The Common Objects of the Country,” affirms his 
belief in the swallowing of the skin, just noticed. He says: 
“For the poisonous properties attributed to the toads, there 
is some foundation, though a small one.” Small indeed; 
merely because a dog refuses to carry a toad in his mouth, 
owing to some acid humour, perhaps merely urine, instead of 
venom, said to be secreted from tubercles on its back. This 
common notion seems to arise from the fact, that toads exude 
a sort of sweat from all parts of their skin, through fear, and 
aLo from something connected with their state of health. It 
must here, too, be taken into account, that a toad is not a 
dog’s natural prey, and that he never pursues one of his own 
accord. If, then, he seizes a toad, being set on by his master, 
he thinks he has done his duty by giving it a few shakes, as 
he would any other unusual or disagreeable object. 
I may here note, that I was startled at the author’s remarks 
at page 21, that “ much of the present heedlessness respect¬ 
ing animals is caused by the popular idea that they have no 
souls, and that w'hen they die they entirely perish;” and 
much more at the monstrous proposition, “ that, unless these 
poor creatures were compensated in another life, there is no 
such quality as justice.” This is backed by expressions from 
Holy Writ, painfully misapplied, into which I have no desire 
to enter. Ihe facetious lines of Dyron, on Dishop Derkeley’s, 
perhaps less absurd, theory, is sufficient answer to Mr. 
Wood’s absurd assertionWhen Dishop Derkeley said, 
‘ There was no matter,’ and proved it, ’twas no matter what 
lie said.” Toads, however, are on every side victims of er¬ 
roneous notions, entertained of them even by people other¬ 
wise sensible. These would be best dissipated by an 
attentive perusal of four interesting papers in the Literary 
Gazette , written by the Rev. Dr. Husenbeth, detailing his 
own experience, in keeping pet toads, for several years. These 
papers appeared in that periodical for March 12, 1831 ; 
Sept. 20, 1840 ; March 10, 1850 ; and Dec. 10, 1854. Some 
extracts, from the first only of these articles, are given in 
Professor Rennie’s edition of “ White’s Seiborne,” page 07. 
The only thing I know of, as likely to give rise to the 
opinion of toads being poisonous, is the milky secretion from 
their skin when wounded, of which a very remarkable account 
is given in the last of the above papers by Dr. Husenbeth. 
This has a peculiar, fetid smell; but, beyond this, nothing has 
been established in proof of any poisonous quality, it is al¬ 
luded to in the old Scottish ballad of “ Robin a Rie :”— 
“ The milk on the toad’s back J wad prefer 
To the poisons in his words that be.” 
—J. WlGHTON. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Grubs—Dung on Vink Houoku (./. fV-j .—They are not worms, but 
grubs, the larvae of the Daddy-long-legs fliirulu olerucea). We know i 
oi no remedy except stirring the soil round the plants that they are : 
likely to attack, and destroying the marauders you may hud. A little I 
gas lime stirred into the soil near the plants might keep them away, j 
