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L E T T E R XVIII.
TO- T H E S AM E .
DEAR SIR; Selborne* July*7> 176r-'
I r e c e iv ed your obliging and communicative letter of June the -
28th, while I was on a vifit at a gentleman’s houfe, where I had
neither books to turn to,, nor leifure to-fit down, to return you an >
anfwer to many queries, which I wanted to refolve in the belt
manner that I am able.
A perfon, by my order, has fearched our brooks, but could •
find no fuch filh as the gajlerojleus - ptmgitius he found the-
gafierofieus aculeatus in plenty-. This morning, in a balket, 1'
packed adittle earthen pot full of wet mofs, and in it fome ftickle-r-
backs, male and female; the females big with fpawn: fome
lamperns; fome bulls-heads; but I could procure no minnows-
This balket will be in Fleet-Jlreet by eight this evening; fo I
hope Mazel will have them frelh and fair to-morrow morning. L
gave fome directions, in a letter, to-what.particulars the engraver -
Ihould be attentive.
Finding, while I was on a vifit, that T was within a reafonable
diftance of AmbreJBury, I lent a fervant over to that town, and '
procured fever-al living fpeeimens of loaches, which he brought,
fafe and brilk, in a glafs decanter- They were taken in the gullies
that were cut for watering the meadows. From thefe. fi&ea
(which meafured from two to four inches in length) I took the
following defcription : “ The loach,, in it’s general” afpeft, has
“ a pellucid appearance : it’s back is mottled with irregular
“ collections of fmall- black dots, not reaching much below the
“ linen
« linen lateralis, as are the back and tail fins: a black line runs
“ from each eye down to the nofe; it’s belly is of a filvery
“ •white; the upper jaw projects beyond the lower, and is fur-
“ rounded with fix feelers, three on each fide: it’s pedoral fins
“ are large, it’s ventral much fmaller; the fin behind it s anus
“ fmall; it’s dorfal-fin large, containing eight fpines; it s tail,..
“ where it joins to the tail-fin, remarkably broad, without any
“ tapernefs, fo as to be chatafteriftic of this genus : the tail-fin
“ is broad, and fquare at the end. From the breadth and muf-
“ cular ftrength of the tail it appears- to be an adfive nimble
“ fifh.”
In my vifit I was not very far . from Hmgerford, and did nor
forget to- make fome inquiries concerning the wonderful method
of curing canters by means of toads- Several intelligent per-
fons, both gentry and clergy, do, I find, give a great deal of
credit to what was aflerted in the papers: and I myfelf dined
with a clergyman who feemed-to be perfuaded that what-is related
is» matter of fatt; but, when I-came to attend to his account, I
thought I difeerned circumftances which did not a little invalidate
the woman’s ftory of the manner in which (he came by her (kill-
She fays of herfelf “ that, labouring under a virulent cancer, fhe
« went to fome church where there was a vaft crowd : on going
“ into a pew, (he was accofted by a ftrange clergyman; who,
“ after exprefiing companion for her fituation, told her that if (he
“ would make fuch an application of living toads as is mentioned’
“ (he would be well.”' Now is it likely that this unknown gentleman
Ihould exprefs fo much tendernefs for this (ingle fufferer,
and not feel any for the many thoufands that daily languilh under
this terrible diforder? Would he not have made ufe of this,
invaluable noftrum for his own emolument; or, at leaft, by
fome: