Sqnatic JLitt 



directly from above, this dark or black- 

 ish-brown skin is in no way relieved by 

 any brighter color, and the observer 

 would never suspect the brilliant orange 

 vermilion of the markings of the under 

 parts. No two specimens have these two 

 highly-tinted patterns alike ; but by study- 

 ing the series it will be observed that in 

 some individuals the colored area is 

 nearly entire, as shown in Figs. I and 2, 

 more or less of the inferior border of 

 the tail being always red. Still, where 

 this area is nearly entire, either one or 

 both of its outer margins are more or 

 less broken and jagged, with a few off- 

 lying islets of red spots. 



From this stage the pattern appears 

 to take on two or three different styles. 

 It may tend to become broadly zigzag 

 between the throat and the vent, as in 

 Fig. 3 ; or it may form a median line 

 with crooked lateral branches and a few 

 scattered spots, as in Fig. 5; finally, it 

 may break up into irregularly formed 

 islands and spots of color, as exhibited 

 in Fig. 4. Rarely are the color spots to 

 be found on the under side of the limbs. 

 Again, the color area frequently seems 

 to persist about the genital fissure or the 

 vent, as the case may be, and in many 

 specimens the chin area is unbroken. I 

 am strongly inclined to believe that these 

 color patterns are quite independent of 

 the sex of the individual, and possibly 

 of age. 



This seems to be a hardy species, and 

 is certainly a very beautiful creature in 

 an aquarium. They are very fond of 

 small frog tadpoles and angling worms; 

 and as some of the females appear to be 

 heavy with spawn, I am in hopes that 

 later on I may have the opportunity to 

 try to rear the young from eggs. They 

 seem to like pretty deep water, and have 

 no apparent inclination to come up on 

 the mossy bank or flat stones that rise out 

 of it. This newt is probably quite as 



harmless as any other species of Diemy- 

 ctylus — indeed, I must believe they de- 

 stroy the larvae of many undesirable 

 aquatic insects, perhaps mosquito larvae, 

 in which case it would be a beautiful 

 addition to introduce into our ponds, in 

 that it might, in time, become a part of 

 the aquatic fauna of the country, in such 

 localities as it would be likely to thrive. 

 Ir certainly makes a very interesting and 

 strikingly handsome addition to the 

 aquarium. 



Water Hyacinths a Pest 



Experiments on water hyacinth have 

 been carried on in French Indo-China for 

 the purpose of turning to some profit the 

 growth which encumbers the lower 

 Mekong and other waters of Cochin 

 China and Cambodia to such a degree 

 that it has become a positive menace to 

 navigation. The fibre produced by this 

 plant, according to the "London Engi- 

 neer," has been used in the manufacture 

 of rope, twine, matting, paddy sacks, 

 boxes and chairs, cradles and other arti- 

 cles of furniture. It has been mixed 

 with silk to form a somewhat stiff but 

 durable cloth. Water hyacinth has now 

 entered the commercial field as a rival 

 of rattan, rather than jute. It is stated 

 that since April, 191 1, the plant has been 

 dried, compressed into briquettes, and 

 used as fuel at Khartum and other points 

 on the Upper Nile. These briquettes can 

 be put on the market at $5.75 per ton, 

 and it is said that tests made on a steamer 

 on the White Nile have demonstrated 

 that their efficiency as a fuel equals that 

 of the same amount of the best coal. 



Torn — "Why is the frog the most 

 economical animal ?" 



Dorn — "Because, after casting off its 

 skin, it rolls it into a neat ball and eats 

 it." 



