NEWTS, FROGS, AND TOADS. 
4 1 
the tail, as they act as a float. This little reptile may often be seen 
lying on the top of the water, in which it is exclusively found, 
to all appearances dead, but when so seen is only waiting for its 
■dinner, which it makes off the tadpole of the frog and the little 
water flea. This creature, like other reptiles, has the power of 
changing its skin, which it does by rubbing itself against its 
.surroundings. Another curious power they possess is the 
ability to replace mutilated limbs, which power has caused them 
to be much studied. The Frog : This amphibian, the lecturer 
said, was the most commonly known of all our British reptiles, 
and he gave many particulars of its habits, one being that from 
March to April the female lays as many as 12,000 eggs ; but of 
this immense quantity a few only arrive at the adult size, owing 
to their having to contend with so many enemies. The Toad: 
This also the lecturer very fully described, especially in relation 
to the “ old-fashioned idea ” of its being able to vomit poison, 
which idea, he said, arose from a secretion which is produced 
in the “warty ” parts of the skin, and which the toad exudes 
upon being handled. This fluid is very objectionable to some 
animals, while to others it soon causes them to suffocate and 
die. In the breeding season each female lays about 1,900 eggs, 
but of these only a very few arrive at maturity. The toad was, 
formerly, much prized as a medicine, and at the present time 
in China it is sold dried for such purposes. 
THE PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
COLLECTING AND PRESERVING BIRDS’ EGGS 
AND NESTS. 
By H. T. Booth. 
( Continued from page 33, J 
The best places to search for nests at the beginning of the 
season are in hollies, yews, and other evergreen shrubs, espe¬ 
cially in plantations. Long before the leaves are on the trees, 
nests of the Crow, Heron, Rook, Magpie, Owls, and Wood 
Pigeon will be found high up in tall trees in woods or copses. 
At the end of April in upland moors, swamps, marshes, and 
unfrequented fields, will be found breeding the Redshank, Coot, 
Moorhen, Common Snipe, Lapwing, Golden Plover, and other 
similar birds. At the beginning of May all our resident birds 
are nesting, and every day fresh arrivals take place, until the 
latter part of the month, when about the last bird to arrive is 
the Nightjar. 
