Tlit Transformation of the Mexican AxolotL 557 



transformation by exposing them to conditions of 

 life which made the use of gills difficult, and that 

 of lungs more easy ; in other words, by com- 

 pelling them to live partly on land at a certain 

 stage of life. 



During that year indeed I obtained no results, 

 most of the larvae perishing before the time for 

 such an experiment had arrived, and the few 

 survivors did not undergo transformation, but 

 lived on to the following spring and then also 

 died one after the other. Through long absence 

 from Freiburg, necessitated by other labours, I 

 had evidently left them without sufficient care 

 and attention. I was thus led to the conviction, 

 which was more fully confirmed subsequently, 

 that no results can be obtained without the 

 greatest care and attention in rearing, towards 

 which single object all one's interest should be 

 concentrated, and it must not be considered 

 irksome to have to devote daily for many months 

 a large amount of time to this experiment. As 

 it was evident that I could not afford this time 

 without calling in other aid, I hailed with pleasure 

 an opportunity of witnessing the experiment per- 

 formed by other hands. 



A lady living here (Freiburg), FraAilein v. 

 Chauvin, undertook to rear a number of my larvae 

 of the following year which had just hatched, and 

 in accordance with my idea to make the experi- 

 ment of forcibly compelling them to adopt the 



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