90 POND LIFE 



contains a great number of special glands for the purpose of 

 keeping it moist. 



That so many people should dislike frogs is really surprising, 

 and only leads to show how blind we civilised beings are to 

 God's great work. For the frog is no coarse or ugly creature, 

 nothing repulsive, but much to the contrary, and there is no 

 justifiable reason to dislike a harmless animal, which was 

 created for a good purpose. 



The newts or elfts, similarly to the frogs, are greatly dis- 

 liked and feared by people who ought to know better. What 

 there is to fear nobody exactly knows. In some places the 

 idea seems to be that the poor, quiet, inoffensive, timid, little 

 newt is an evil spirit. Civilisation certainly makes slow pro- 

 gress. Well we must leave the creatures more timid than 

 the newt to their own reflections and return to the latter. 



The female newt lays each egg on a leaf which she bends 

 over, so as to protect it from predaceous fish, and other 

 dangers. The eggs hatch into most charming little creatures, 

 delicate, graceful, and beautifully coloured. Gradually the 

 young newt grows more like the adult; the large external gills 

 which give it so original an appearance disappear. 



If the young newt be placed under the microscope the 

 blood can be watched circulating in the gills, a most fascinat- 

 ing spectacle. When the young newts are mature they leave 

 the water and do not return until a year or two later. 



There are three British species, two common and the other 

 rare. 



The great Warty Newt (Molge cristata). 



The skin of this species is rough, hence its name. In colour 

 it is almost black, with a light orange throat and abdomen, 

 the latter marked with dark lines ; in addition the tail of the 

 male bears a conspicuous white streak. 



During the breeding season, bot*h the male and the female 

 become even more highly coloured. The former now bears a 

 crest along its back, and the white streak on its tail becomes 

 even more clearly defined. 



Molge cristata is the largest British newt, often measuring 

 as much as 5 inches when mature. Both male and female 

 bear a stolid but peculiarly savage expression, yet are per- 

 fectly harmless. 



Towards winter the newts wander from the pond, and hide 

 in any convenient spot. Sometimes they will enter houses in 

 search of a suitable spot, much to the terror of the original 

 inhabitants. 



Molge vulgaris, which is smaller than Molge cristata, is 





