New Experiment on a 
out to prove his affertions. Iam glad to. 
fiave it in my power to add fomething 
towards eftablifhing the truth of this un- 
accountable phenornenon; with the ad- 
Wantage of relating only what fell under 
my own immediate obfervation. 
I was led to make an experiment on 3 
toad, by the perufal of one of Dr. Frank- 
lin’s eflays ; where he afferts (though 
only from report) that they will live for 
ages in folid rock ; and alfo affures us of 
a faét equally aftonifhing, and out of the 
common <ourfe of nature: that flies, 
corked up in wine in the Weft-Indies, 
&c. may frequently be reftored to life in 
England, by expofing them to the heat of 
the fun’s beams. ‘This he tried himfelf, 
and has eftablifhed beyond any doubt. 
Sir, Franklin, en this occafion, exprefles 
himéfelf rather romantically ; he wifhes 
he, and a few choice friends, could in the 
fame manner be preferyed in a catk of 
Madeira, and revived at the end of a 
century, to fee how his dear country 
America flourished. 
I was as doubtful as your correfpond- 
ent in refpect to the toads; but did not 
prefume to difpute fuch high authority, 
merely on account of the imprebability 
of the ftory, without affuring mytelf by 
the more certain telt of experiment, which 
frequently, as in the-prefent inftance, bat- 
fles our reafoning. 
I accordingly caught a large toad, 
which Iconfined in a glafs tumbler, co- 
vered at the top with a large piece of 
cork, clofed with fealing wax, fo effec- 
tually, that no frefh air could be admit- 
ted, nor any thing poflibly efecape. In 
this ftate I left it in my room, and in a 
few hours, returning, found the glals, 
(which I had corked too tight} broken, 
and the animal efcaped through the win- 
dow, and fallen on to the pavement nearly 
fourteen feet, which mult have hurt it, 
and yery probably haftened its death. 
I committed it ence more to a fimilar 
confinement, with more caution,: and in 
this {tate actually kept it alive /ix moxihs. 
As Thad no thoughts of publifhing this 
circumftance at that time, J did not make 
fo many obfervations as I otherwile fheuld 
have doné; but frequently remarked in 
the tumbler fmall black fubftances, re- 
fembling in fhape little animals ; and, as 
thete alternately appeared and difappeared, 
the toad mult have fwallowed them; fo 
that itis poflible it poff-fles the property 
ef the ruminating animals, in a much 
greater degree ; for the throat had a con- 
itant motion, as if inthe act of mattica- 
‘nation to try. 
Toad, by Mr. Smith. 175 
tion; yet, what is rather extraordinary, 
all the time I kept it, I never once faw its 
mouth open; and it feemed as ftrong a 
few days before it died as at firft; fo that 
I attribute its death rather to’ the fall, 
than to confinement, or want of food: The 
fides of the glafs were fo frequently ob- 
{cured by a dark moifture, that I could 
{carcely difcern the animal through them. 
Your correfpondent A. P. B. doubts, 
very naturally, that a creature furnifhed 
with lungs fhould exift when deprived of | 
air; but what is here related, in my opi-~ 
nion, is a proof to the contrary; as the 
very fmall-quantity in the glefs, at the 
time of clofing it up, would be vitiated 
and unfit for refpiration in a few minutes; 
and I find no ditheulty in admitting, that 
if this animal can (in direS&t contradigtior 
to all the known laws of animated naturé) 
exift for fix months, depriyed of air, food, 
or water, it may, for any argument we 
can produce to the contrary, furvive cen- 
turies in fimilar circumftances ; nor 
fhould I be at all furprifed, if it was found 
to live in yacuo for a:confiderable time ; 
an experiment, however, I have no incli- 
I rather think what I 
have already done needs fome apology, 
and fhall add a few words in my own 
juftification, as it may appear, that in 
this experiment I have permitted curiofity 
to get the better of humanity. 
i have read, with abhorrence, the cruel 
experiments of Fontana, and fome others, 
where thoufands of harmlefs creaturés, 
under the pretext of being ferviceable ‘to 
mankind, were put todeath, in the moft 
fhocking and prolonged tortures: but in 
the prefent inftance, { felt affured, that if 
_ the toad could live one day without freth 
air, it muft exift by means we are unac- 
quainted with, and without pain or effort. 
Indeed, had it fuffered vifibly from a few 
minutes confinement, which I naturally 
expected, I fhould certainly have libera- 
ted it, and purfued the trialno further ; 
but on the contrary, it feemed fo pertectly 
at ealg, that I fully expeéted it would 
have furvived me, and the prefent genera- 
tion. Ibeg leave to fubfcribe mylelf, 
Sir, your’s moft refpectfully, 
EGERTONSMITH. | 
Nevigation Shop, Pool-lane, 
Liverpool, Feb. 11; 1798. 
Le ees 
Jo the Editor of the Monthly Magazin-. 
SIR, | 
Have lately heard of feveral inftances,. 
in which the fcurvyy prevailed to a 
Aa great 
