25 



I have been very careful to note individual exceptions in my 

 writings, and I have subjected large series of many species to a close 

 scrutiny. I have now in the press a Monograph of the Lizards, in 

 which the record of such details is carried to a point that has not, 

 I think, been reached before in the case of any large group ; in thus 

 dealing with the subject I am encouraged by the opinion of a great 

 French biologist (Alfred Giard), that the detailed and conscientious 

 observations of facts, apparently futile, must lead to conceptions of 

 a high philosophical bearing. I would advise all who have the 

 taste and the leisure to minutely compare large series of specimens 

 of common forms, whether animals or plants, with the latest and 

 best descriptions they can get hold of ; they will be surprised to 

 find how many little discoveries they will make. 



To return to the Newts : after this digression, a few words as to 

 their distril)ution, a subject which I also recommend to your atten- 

 tion, as it is desirable to obtain further records of localities for a more 

 exact m;ipping out of their range in Britain. 



The Crested Newt is found in England only as far west as Devon- 

 shire, where it appears to be very local and .scarce, and in Scotland 

 as far north as Perthshire ; it is absent in the west. The Common 

 Mewt has apparently the same distribution here, as on the continent; 

 it is quite a mistake to think that it is generally distributed, for, on 

 the contrary, the Paluiated Newt, which is local in the south-east of 

 England, occupies a far more extensive territory, being the only 

 species found over the whole of England, Wales, and Scotland. 

 On the continent the Common Newt is more an eastern species, the 

 Palmated Newt being the reverse ; it is the same in England. How 

 verjr curious then to find that, passing over to Ireland, the Common 

 Newt is the only one occurring there. Had I been asked to predict 

 I should have had no hesitation in suggesting the Palmated Newt 

 as the representative of the genus in that island. 



I have one more recommendation to make to collectors of Newts. 

 There is a remarkable phenomenon, known as iieot^nn. the abnormal 

 prolongation of the larval state, or the retention of certain attributes 

 of that state, of which we have a classical example in the Axolotl 

 of Mexico, which is the permanent, sexually mature, branchiate, 

 larval form of a Salamander [Auibbjstovio ti(/riniiiii). Only some 

 individuals assume the perfect form under certain conditions, and 

 you may see an example of this Salamander at the Zoological 

 Gardens in Kegent's Park, the only survivor of a number reared by 

 my son a few years ago. It is less known that there are some 

 localities in the Alps of Italy which possess in comparative abund- 

 ance Axolotl forms of Mohje alpestris : elsewhere, branchiate adults 

 of M. ctistata and j\]. vidj/aris have been found as isolated indi- 

 viduals only. Twenty years ago I made an appeal to those who 

 might be so lucky as to come across specimens of any of our Newts 

 in that condition, to preserve them alive and, considering the facility 

 with which these creatures breed in captivity, to attempt to raise a 



