LIFE HISTORY OF DESMOGNATHUS FUSCA. 327 



covered with moss, and here and there are placed several stones, 

 the size of one's fist, and a few pieces of rotten stump, arranged 

 so as to give shelter to the adults. In one corner a crystallizing 

 dish is sunk to the level of the soil. This is filled with water and 

 the bottom covered with a little fine sand. Some duckweed, or 

 Salvinia, may be placed upon the surface, and a few small stones 

 should be put in a dish. At the beginning of the season, after 

 arranging everything as above, enough water is poured in to 

 drench the soil, and the sunken dish is filled. After this the 

 terrarium is self-regulating. The water that evaporates is re- 

 precipitated as moisture, and the total loss from the little pond 

 in the corner is so slight that it needs replenishing not oftener than 

 once in six months. If the terrarium is to support many animals, 

 it is better to place a few earthworms, myriapods, etc., in it; 

 and if the pond is designed for the rearing of larvae, supplies of 

 Entomostraca and a little Spirogyra to feed them with should be 

 occasionally introduced. I have tried placing tiny bits of meat 

 in prominent places, but they merely mould and have to be 

 removed. I have kept as many as 20-30 adults and a dozen 

 larvae in my terrarium during an entire college year, and several 

 times, on clearing it out in the fall after the summer vacation, I 

 have found alive and in good condition adults which I had been 

 unable to find in the spring, when I intend always to remove 

 the animals. It seems most probable that these salamanders 

 find enough to eat among the worms and insects introduced 

 with the earth and plants, as they always appear in perfectly 

 normal condition and contrast very forcibly with Diemyctylus , 

 which grows thin and often starves to death when placed under 

 the same conditions." 



I might add to this account the fact that I have found very 

 convenient for the accommodation of a small number of speci- 

 mens, such terraria as may be readily constructed from cylindrical 

 anatomical jars of heavy glass, measuring from 8 to 18 inches in 

 diameter and from 6 to 10 inches high, and provided with a 

 tightly fitting but easily removable glass cover. Such jars, 

 equipped with earth, stones, and plants as above directed by 

 Wilder, will accommodate according to size from two to ten 

 specimens of adult Desmognathus and are small enough to be 



