BATRACHIA. 



unless it occasionally shares some of those belong] 



mentioned further on. Its body is exceedingly fish-li 



provided with four feet instead of fins; while the 



placed in chambers at the sides of the throat, proj. 



the neck like large plumes. This animal— Nectm 1_ 



found through a large part of the northeastern United Si 



not occur in New England. Its only relatives are 



blind forms which live in certain caves in Austria. 



A little higher in structure comes the ■ mud-eel ' of the Boutb 

 andwhichissaidtobeconiparativelycomini.il in the ditches in 

 swamps of South Carolina and Georgia. It is exceedingly like an i • 

 its appearance, except that it has the same gills, only smaller, of the I 

 mentioned species, and a single pair of short legs. The n _ 

 with a sort of superstitious horror, considering i; - [tremely | 

 and possessed of many other evil powers. In this respect the anima 

 greatly maligned ; for it is a perfectly harmless form, whose sole 

 in life seems to be to get an abundant supply of worms ami othei : A. 



Salamanders. 



In the salamanders the external gills, so prominent in tin- other 

 disappear with growth. Less than a hundred arc known from the 

 world, and of these, fifty are found in North America. L j all 



species is the 'hell-bender' of the Mississippi basin, which is especially 

 abundant in the Ohio and its tributaries. It is an n-!\ , dis s eable-1 

 form, which occasionally grows to be two feet long. It is remark 

 voracious, eating anything not too large to be swallowed. In tl 

 becomes a serious pest to the sportsman ; for frequentl} these writhing 

 squirming creatures seize the bait, and are drawn to the surfa 

 they secrete a large amount of slime. Few fishermen will touch 

 but will cut the line rather than try to release them from the hook. 

 vitality is wonderful. Says Mr. Frear: k - One specimen, about 

 inches in length, which had lain on the ground exposed to 

 for forty-eight hours, was brought to the museum, and was lef 

 day longer before it was placed in alcohol. The day folio* 

 note a few points of structure, I removed it from the alcohol 

 had been completely submerged for at least twenty hours, 

 placed it on the table before" it began to open its big mou 

 swayed its tail to and fro, and gave other undoubted 

 This form, large as it is, is surpassed by the giant Balamai 

 which reaches a length of three feet. 



