466 TITHONIA. 
to four tenths of it. In poorer lands, on the con- 
trary, the produce is sometimes so small, and the 
expense of cultivation so great, that it requires 
four fifths of the whole produce to replace to the 
farmer his capital, with the ordinary profit. In 
this case, though there were no tithe, the rent of 
the landlord could amount to no more than one 
fifth, or two tenths, of the whole produce. But 
if the farmer pays one tenth of the produce in 
the way of tithe, he must require an equal abate- 
ment of the rent of the landlord, which will thus 
be reduced to one tenth only of the whole pro- 
duce. Upon the rent of rich lands, the tithe 
may sometimes be a tax of no more than one 
fifth part, or four shillings in the pound; where- 
as, upon that of poorer lands, it may sometimes 
be a tax of one half, or of ten shillings in the 
pound. It is a great discouragement to the im- 
provement of land, that a tenth part of the clear 
produce, without any deduction for the advanced 
expense of raising that produce, should be alien- 
ated from the cultivator of the land to any other 
person whatever. The improvements of the land- 
lord and the cultivation of the farmer are both 
checked by this unequal tax upon the rent. The 
one cannot venture to make the most important, 
which are generally the most expensive improve- 
ments, nor the other to raise the most valuable, 
which are generally the most expensive crops, 
when the church, which oontributes no part of 
the expense, is to share so very largely.in the 
profit. When, instead either of a certain portion 
of the produce of land, or of the price of a certain 
portion, a certain sum of money is to be paid in 
full compensation for all tax or tithe, the tax 
becomes, in this case, exactly of the same nature 
with the land tax of England. It neither rises 
nor falls with the rent of the land. It neither 
encourages nor discourages improvement. The 
tithe, in the greater part of those parishes which 
pay what is called a modus, in lieu of all other 
tithes, is a tax of this kind. 
It is well known, and has often been lamented, 
even by the clergy themselves, that this method 
of raising a revenue for their subsistence, is a 
continual source of dispute between the clergy 
and their parishioners, and contributes to obstruct 
the usefulness of their ministry. 
TITHONIA. An ornamental, tropical, ever- 
green shrub, of the sunflower division of the 
composite order. It constitutes a genus of itself, 
and bears specifically the descriptive name of 
tagetifora or marigold-flowered. It was intro- 
duced to the hothouses of Britain about 30 years 
ago from Vera Cruz; and it attains a height of 
about 10 feet, and carries orange-coloured flowers 
from July till October. 
TITMOUSE. See Tr. 
TITTMANNIA.. A genus of ornamental exo- 
tic plants, of the figwort family. Two annual 
species, the ovate-leaved and the clammy, both 
small, early-blooming trailers of 2 or 3 inches 
in height, have been introduced to British col- 
ear RS GEO OAR GER TSI aD ae op 
TOADFLAX. 
lections from Polynesia and India; and 6 or 7 
other species are known. 
TOAD,—scientifically Bufo. A genus of ba- 
trachian reptiles, of the frog family. They have 
a comparatively bulky body, covered with warts 
or papilla,—a thick lump situated behind the 
ear, pierced with pores, and emitting a milky 
and foetid humour,—no teeth,—and slightly 
elongated hind feet ; they are bad leapers, and 
generally avoid the water; they have a hideous 
and disgusting appearance; and their bite, their 
saliva, their urine, and even their perspiration 
are commonly, but erroneously, regarded as poi- 
sonous. See the article Frog. 
The common toad, called by the old zoolegists 
Rana bufo, is a well known frequenter of the 
moist and shady quarters of kitchen gardens, 
and of other similar situations, where its presence 
is most repugnant to the ignorant and the fas- 
tidious. Its predominant colour is grey brown 
or reddish grey, sometimes olive or blackish; its 
back or upper surface is studded with rounded 
tubercular warts as large as lentils; its belly or 
under surface is still more closely set with smaller 
tubercles; and its hind feet are semi-palmate. 
It inhabits dark or deeply shaded places in sum- 
mer, and lies dormant in an excavated hole during 
winter. I¢ couples in the water in March and 
April. The female produces innumerable small 
ova, united by a transparent gelatinous substance 
in two strings, which are often 20 or 30 feet long; 
and the male assists with his hind feet in ex- 
tracting the ova. The tadpole is blackish; and 
at the time of losing its tail and acquiring legs, 
is the smallest of the European species. The 
common toad feeds on flies, ants, and other in- 
sects, and therefore does good and no harm in . 
gardens; it has a cry of somewhat similar sound 
to the barking of a dog; it is preyed upon by 
buzzards, owls, snakes, and some other animals; 
and it begins to breed at four years of age, and 
commonly lives upwards of 15 years, but has 
been known, in some curious instances, to attain 
a remarkable longevity. 
Most of the other European species of toads 
are popularly called frogs——such as the bush 
frog, the variable frog, and the midwife frog ; and 
one, which has a light brown colour, and is eaten 
in some places as if it were a fish, Bufo fuscus, 
is popularly called the natter-jack. Some of the 
species foreign to Europe are remarkably large. 
TOADFLAX,—botanically Zinarta. A diver- 
sified genus of plants, of the figwort family. It 
was included by the old botanists in the genus 
antirrhinum; and it takes both its botanical and 
its popular names from the similarity of its leaves 
—particularly those of the common species—to 
those of cultivated flax. Six species grow wild 
in Britain; about 70 have been introduced from 
other countries; and between 20 and 30 more 
are known. A few of those in Britain are ever- 
green undershrubs, a greater number are peren- 
nial-rooted herbs, and more than the half are 
