NATURAL HISTORY. 



809 



drink the water of those wells which 

 it inhabited. Mr. de Maupertius 

 studied also the nature of this liz- 

 ard. In making researches to dis- 

 cover what might be its pretended 

 poison, he demonstrated experi- 

 mentally, that fire a6tcd upon the 

 salamander in the same manner as 

 upon all other animals. He remark- 

 ed, that it was scarcely upon the fire, 

 when it appeared to be covered with 

 the drops of its milk, which, rarified 

 by the heat, issued through all the 

 pores of its skin, but in greater 

 quantity from the head and dugs, 

 and that it immediately became hard. 

 It is needless to say that this milk 

 is not sufficiently abundant to ex- 

 tinguish even the smallest fire. 



Mr. de Maupertius, in the course 

 of his experiments, in vain irritated 

 aeveral salamanders; none of them 

 ever opened its mouth ; he was 

 obliged to open it by force 



As the teeth of this lizard are 

 very small, it was very difficult to 

 find an animal with a skin sufficient. 

 ly fine to be penetrated by them : 

 he tried without success to force 

 them into the flesh of a chicken 

 stripped of its feathers ; he in vain 

 pressed them against the skin, they 

 were displaced, but they could not 

 enter. He, however, made a sala- 

 mander bite the thigh of a chicken, 

 after he had taken oft" a small part 

 of the skin. He also made sala- 

 manders newly caught, bite also the 

 tongue and lips of a dog, as %vell as 

 the tongue of a turkey ; but none 

 of these animals r(!ceived the least 

 injury. Mr. de xMaupcrtius after- 

 wards made a dog and a turkey 

 swallow salamanders whole or cut 

 into pieces, and yet neither of them 

 appeared to be sensible of the least 

 uneasiness. 



Air. Laurcnti siace made cxpc 



riments with the same view : ha 

 forced grey lizards to swallow the 

 milk proceeding from the salaman- 

 der, and they died very suddenly. 

 The milk therefore of the salaman- 

 der taken internally may hurt, and 

 even be fatal to certain animals, 

 especially those which are small ; 

 but it does not appear to be hurtful 

 to large animals. It was loug be- 

 lieved that the salamander was of 

 no sex, and that each individual 

 had the power of engendering its 

 like, as several species of worms. 

 This is not the most absurd fable, 

 which has been imagined Avith re- 

 spect to the salamander; but if the 

 manner in which they come into the 

 world is not so marvellous as has 

 been written, it is remarkable in this, 

 that it differs from that in whiclj 

 all other lizards are brought forth, 

 as it is analogous to that in which 

 the chalcide and the seps, as well as 

 vipers and several kinds of serpents 

 are produced. On this account the 

 salamander merits the attention of 

 naturalists, much more than «n tha 

 false and brilliant reputation which 

 it has so long enjoyed. Mr. de 

 Maupertius, having opened some 

 salamanders, found eggs in them, 

 and at the same time some young, 

 perfe(5tly formed. The eggs were 

 divided into two long bunches like 

 grapes ; they were equally well 

 formed as the old ones, and much 

 more aftive. The salamander, there- 

 fore, brings forth young from au 

 egg hatched in its belly, as the vi- 

 per. But some have written, that, 

 like the aquatic salamander, it lays 

 elliptic eggs, from which are hatch- 

 ed young salamanders, nndor the 

 form of tad-poles. We have oflen 

 verified the first faft, which hits becu 

 well known for some time, bat we 

 have not had an opportunity of 



provinj; 



