NEWTS. or 
When a young Newt has not, for some reason or other, com- 
pleted its metamorphosis by the autumn, it spends the winter 
in the water, generally at the bottom, in the mud. As a rule, 
most of the Newts leave their aquatic life at the end of the breed- 
ing season, and find, for hiding and hibernation, such places as 
cavities under stones, small holes in banks, hollows in trees, and 
crevices in walls. A Newt may, therefore, be described as more 
of a terrestrial animal than an aquatic one. 
At the commencement of the breeding season the males of 
many species assume very gaudy colours and a handsome crest, 
which, however, gradually disappear as the autumn advances, 
until, in the winter, these Batrachians once more bear a close 
resemblance to their females. 
Several times during the year Newts shed their sloughs, which 
are cast either entire or in pieces’ A complete slough is an imter- 
esting object, the portions which covered the feet or hands appear- 
ing like tiny gloves when filled with water. If such a slough be 
carefully lifted, at the end of a camel’s-hair brush, from the 
water and placed upon a piece of white paper, it will adhere 
there and dry, leaving a mark, for such is the frailness and fine- 
ness of the skin, like a painting in sepia. The slough, as that of 
Snakes, begins to leave the animal at the mouth. Newts, some- 
times, as Toads do, eat their discarded garments. Immediately 
before the cuticle is cast, the Batrachians are dull in colour and 
listless in movement, but quite the reverse is the case when the 
operation has been successfully performed. 
Newts are intelligent enough to learn to know those who tend 
them, and soon become so tame as to feed from the hand. The 
most suitable food to give these creatures is worms, over which 
they will sometimes fight fiercely. 
The Molge, however, is a cannibal, and ever ready to devour 
a diminutive brother in the form of a tadpole, or a smaller 
relative of another species. When Newts are kept in a Vivarium 
with Salamanders, Toads, and Frogs, it will be noticed that, like 
their comrades, they seek their food chiefly at night. They will, 
however, feed readily at any time during the aquatic periods of 
their lives. 
There are many superstitions concerning the poisonous properties 
2B 2 
