The Zoologist— June, 1869. 1709 



produced some yonng ones, and, in the course of a week or so, it had 

 brought forth thirty-two, most of which soon died, but six of them 

 survived nearly a fortnight." — Zool. •2789. 



The loss of the little ones was, doubtless, consequent on the igno- 

 rance of the keeper as to the viviparous character of parturition ; 

 and the absence of all provision for the unexpected event. Had the 

 salamander in question been provided with water, or thoroughly 

 wetted moss, in all probability her little ones would have survived. 

 Great doubts have been expressed as to this exception of the sala- 

 manders being a solitary one, and instances have been reported of 

 toads proving viviparous in cellars where access to water was im- 

 possible ; but these reports, as far I have been able to investigate 

 ihem, turn out to be unsatisfactory : in some instances the reporters 

 are anonymous ; in others pseudonymous ; in others, where a real 

 name and address has been given, access to the writers has been 

 found difficult ; and finally, in those cases where the reporter has 

 been found trustworthy, the conditions have not been scrutinised 

 with that care which such statements require. In one particular in- 

 stance, in which there could be no doubt as to the good faith of the 

 reporter, the marvel, for such it was deemed, was diminished very 

 considerably by two collateral circumstances :—;^/-s/, it was exactly 

 at the time of year when the ordinary migration of minute toads com- 

 monly takes place ; and, secondly, access to the cellar was very easy, 

 and almost inevitable, by means of some steep stone steps heading 

 from a large and unwalled garden, an arrangement which would 

 render the descent to this Avernus remarkably /ac<7is for the juvenile 

 travellers, should any be passing in that direction, and after the first 

 tumble their fate would be sealed, for revocare gradum, that is to 

 reascend the steps, hie labor hoc opus est — would indeed have been a 

 task all but impossible. 



All the Metamorphotic Reptiles shed their skins once at least in 

 the year, some of them oftener, and all without exception swallow 

 their cast-oflF clothing I wish to lay stress on this last named fact, 

 inasmuch as the detailed descriptions of the process given by various 

 authors in regard to the load, without mentioning natteijacks, frogs, 

 salamanders or newts, would, I think, fairly lead to the inference that 

 the phenomenon was peculiar to the toad. This is by no means the 

 case, and our not regarding this propensity as general and charac- 

 teristic of the subclass arises simply from the lack of observations, 

 not from the absence of the character. The most graphic description 



