158 SALAMAXDRAD^E. 



within three miles of Poole, in Dorsetshire, on the heath 

 between Constitution Hill and Kinson." It is extremely 

 probable that it will be found to be much more gener- 

 ally distributed than has hitherto appeared. Mr. James 

 Salter has communicated the following facts respecting 

 those found in the latter locality, which appear to me 

 too interesting to be lost. This letter is dated December 

 IS, 1848 : — " I took from this pond eight or ten males 

 and several females. The males were brighter coloured 

 than those I took in the Isle of Wight, but in other 

 respects the same. I scraped from the bottom of the 

 pond, out of the mud, a male L. punctatus, and its semi- 

 torpid state contrasted greatly with the vigour and activi- 

 ty of the other species. A female L. palmipes had in its 

 stomach a good-sized, whole, recently taken earth-worm. 



" It is worthy of remark, that in no ponds where there 

 were hundreds of L. punctatus in the summer, have I been 

 able to find any now in the adult state, excepting the 

 single individual before referred to. I have, however, 

 found hosts of very young ones, some just above the tad- 

 pole state, with only two legs, and others with four legs 

 and large branchiae. Is not this very remarkable for the 

 13th of December? 



" In the pond where I took L. palmipes, there were 

 young ones about as far advanced, and these were pal- 

 mipes, as the appendiculate tail was already conspicuous. 

 In this latter pond there were also thousands of very small 

 tadpoles, not above a week old, if so much ; these were 

 doubtless palmipes also. 



" I have thus had an opportunity of observing its win- 

 ter, and comparing it with its summer, dress. The differ- 

 ences are these : In winter the dorsal crest is diminished 

 by about one-third, although it is never very deep, and the 



