180 Mr. G. A. Boulenger on 
become attached to the hind limbs of the males after they 
have been a few minutes in water, which is absurd, we are 
told a few pages further (4, p. 101), when the feat is required 
for the sake of establishing the Mendelian segregation, that 
it can be done :—“ Die Schnur enthielt die fiir A/ytes enorme 
Menge von 112 solcher Hier. Es zeigte sich, dass sie, die ja 
eigentlich fiir "Wasser bestimmt waren (wo die Kopulation 
auch stattgefunden hatte, aber das Minnchen war sogleich 
mit seiner Biirde herausgeklettert), tatsichlich in der Luft 
nicht mehr so gut fortkamen.” 
A further remark concerning the desiccation of the egg- 
capsules, which is stated to take place when the eggs are 
nursed on land. I have observed two cases of males already 
laden taking charge of a second burden, and in the operation 
the strings of the first brood, at least a day or two old, 
stretched out with the same facility as the others. 
Now as to the oviposition and development in water. This 
is what we are told (1, p. 70) happened in the case of some 
specimens received from Westphalia in April 1905 :—“ Die 
herausbeforderten Hierschniire lagen dann... .im Wasser- 
becken. Ich iiberraschte die Tiere auch etliche Male*, wie sie 
hier die Copulation vollzogen. Das Wasserbecken war nur 
drei Zentimeter hoch angefiillt, so dass sie nicht, wie es z. B. 
die Frésche in der Natur freiwillig tun, wiihrend der Begat- 
tung zu schwimmen brauchten. Der Vorgang stimmte, was 
Stellungen und Bewegungen anbetrifft, gut mit der genauen 
Beschreibung dé l’Isle’s tiberein, nur aber, wie bemerkt, mit 
der wesentlichen Abweichung, dass hier kein Aufladen der 
Hier seitens des Minnchens stattfand, sondern dass die dicke, 
aus zwei miteinander verschmolzenen Schniiren entstandene 
Laichmasse ohne weiteres liegen blieb.” And these eggs laid 
in the water developed quite well, and much quicker than 
those on land (1, p. 75) :—Schon nach 13 bis 15 Tagen, 
vom Tag der Besamung an gerechnet, scliwiirmen aus den im 
Wasser liegenden A/ytes-Hiern die Larven hervor.” 
I could hardly, at the time I first read it, believe such a 
statement, having, as have others, repeatedly tried to rear 
Alytes eggs in water, but without success. In order to satisfy 
myself once more, I made a further experiment in Belgium 
in 1912, under what I thought the best conditions, bearing in 
mind what Kammerer had written, taking the eggs from 
* A few times is strange, considering that there were only fourteen 
males altogether, two of which took charge of eggs (see above, P. 176), 
whilst other broods lay scattered “ iiberall im Behialter herum,” on the 
earth, above and under moss, sticking to stones, or in the water. 
