This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1865 Excerpt: ...their mistake. I never had the good fortune to see my friends take beetles or other small prey; but these the gardener told me were never seized with the mouth, but were caught with unerring aim upon the point of the long tongue. There is a curious twitching movement of the hind toes observable in the toad whilst ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1865 Excerpt: ...their mistake. I never had the good fortune to see my friends take beetles or other small prey; but these the gardener told me were never seized with the mouth, but were caught with unerring aim upon the point of the long tongue. There is a curious twitching movement of the hind toes observable in the toad whilst watching an insect which he purposes making its prey. This movement has been noticed to us by several persons who have kept toads in confinement, or closely watched their habits. Mr. G. Guyon, of Ventnor, has kindly communicated to us some additional particulars of the behaviour of these reptiles under confinement. There are two or three features in his letter so curious, and the whole so interesting, that we think no apology is needed for introducing it entire. My toads are sufficiently tame to sit quietly on the hand while carried to the window, and there snap up the flies which they are held within reach of, and in this way I often cleared my sitting-room of these troublesome insects during last summer. Indeed the notion occurred to me of constructing a sort of cage of wire-work, and suspending it in the centre of the room, as is done with the so-called "Fly-catcher," believing that the enclosed toad would" be willing to make himself useful by appropriating the flies that settled on the Hardwicke's Science Gossip, vol. i. p. 62. wires, while visitors of limited zoological attainments would be puzzled by the strange bird thus hung up. Some similar arrangement attached to a window would materially reduce the number of insects on the panes. It has been observed that they refuse to seize anything that is not in motion, and it may be added that they will attack anything that is, provided it is not too large to be swallowed. It would ap...
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