﻿NOTES 
  AND 
  QUERIES. 
  77 
  

  

  and 
  also 
  that 
  the 
  Salamailder 
  had 
  suddenly 
  become 
  deplorably 
  thin. 
  

   That 
  same 
  afternoon 
  it 
  died. 
  I 
  then 
  proceeded 
  to 
  thoroughly 
  clean 
  

   my 
  vivarium, 
  and 
  closely 
  examined 
  all 
  my 
  Reptiles 
  and 
  Amphibia, 
  

   which 
  I 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  in 
  apparently 
  perfect 
  condition. 
  A 
  week 
  later 
  I 
  

   discovered, 
  to 
  my 
  dismay, 
  that 
  the 
  female 
  Salamander 
  had 
  been 
  affected 
  

   in 
  the 
  same 
  way 
  as 
  its 
  mate, 
  only 
  not 
  quite 
  so 
  bad. 
  Only 
  the 
  left 
  fore 
  

   foot 
  showed 
  an 
  open 
  wound. 
  This 
  time 
  I 
  decided 
  to 
  wash 
  the 
  wound 
  

   with 
  disinfectants 
  and 
  keep 
  it 
  bandaged 
  up. 
  Apparently 
  the 
  wound 
  

   began 
  to 
  heal, 
  and 
  the 
  colours 
  of 
  the 
  Salamander 
  again 
  became 
  vivid 
  ; 
  

   but 
  as 
  the 
  days 
  slipped 
  on 
  I 
  noticed 
  a 
  decided 
  shrinkage 
  in 
  the 
  propor- 
  

   tions 
  of 
  the 
  poor 
  creature, 
  and 
  soon 
  the 
  back 
  legs 
  also 
  began 
  to 
  rot 
  

   away, 
  and 
  it 
  was 
  not 
  long 
  before 
  my 
  second 
  Salamander 
  was 
  dead. 
  If 
  

   any 
  of 
  your 
  readers 
  could 
  tell 
  me 
  from 
  what 
  disease 
  my 
  Salamanders 
  

   suffered, 
  and 
  what 
  might 
  have 
  been 
  the 
  cause 
  of 
  same, 
  I 
  should 
  feel 
  

   very 
  thankful. 
  All 
  my 
  reptiles 
  are 
  still 
  in 
  the 
  best 
  of 
  health, 
  and 
  

   never 
  before 
  have 
  I 
  had 
  any 
  serious 
  trouble 
  with 
  any 
  of 
  my 
  Sala- 
  

   manders. 
  I 
  found 
  an 
  ants' 
  nest 
  in 
  the 
  vivarium, 
  and 
  at 
  first 
  put 
  it 
  

   down 
  to 
  the 
  ants, 
  but 
  I 
  found 
  that 
  they 
  did 
  not 
  like 
  to 
  touch 
  the 
  

   Salamanders— 
  in 
  fact, 
  they 
  avoided 
  them 
  whenever 
  they 
  could 
  ; 
  so 
  

   evidently 
  the 
  sores 
  were 
  not 
  produced 
  from 
  the 
  effects 
  of 
  the 
  formic 
  acid 
  

   of 
  the 
  ants. 
  — 
  H. 
  E. 
  Mussett 
  (Thornwald, 
  249, 
  London 
  Road, 
  West 
  

   Croydon). 
  

  

  [Mr. 
  Boulenger 
  informs 
  me 
  that 
  he 
  has 
  had 
  similar 
  experiences 
  with 
  

   Salamanders 
  in 
  captivity. 
  The 
  cause 
  of 
  the 
  disease 
  is 
  still 
  obscure. 
  — 
  

   Ed.] 
  

  

  PISCES. 
  

  

  The 
  Red 
  Snake-Fish 
  (Cepola 
  rubescens, 
  Linn.) 
  in 
  Dorset. 
  — 
  Though 
  

   not 
  precisely 
  a 
  very 
  rare 
  fish, 
  the 
  capture 
  of 
  the 
  Red 
  Snake, 
  or 
  Band- 
  

   fish, 
  is 
  of 
  sufficiently 
  uncommon 
  occurrence 
  to 
  merit 
  a 
  passing 
  notice. 
  

   Neither 
  is 
  it 
  a 
  fish 
  that 
  is 
  likely 
  to 
  be 
  overlooked, 
  for 
  its 
  large 
  staring 
  

   eyes, 
  underhung 
  bull-dog-like 
  mouth, 
  comparatively 
  large 
  head, 
  and 
  thin 
  

   riband-like 
  body, 
  render 
  it, 
  when 
  gliding 
  through 
  the 
  water 
  in 
  snake- 
  

   like 
  undulation;, 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  an 
  attractive 
  creature. 
  The 
  oldest 
  

   fisherman 
  had 
  never 
  seen 
  the 
  like, 
  and 
  his 
  daughter 
  declared 
  that 
  it 
  

   must 
  be 
  a 
  mermaid. 
  Scarcely 
  a 
  compliment, 
  but 
  uttered 
  doubtless 
  

   through 
  jealousy. 
  C. 
  rubescens, 
  so 
  called 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  its 
  bright 
  

   orange-red 
  hue, 
  is 
  a 
  denizen 
  of 
  the 
  deep 
  sea, 
  coming 
  inshore 
  occasionally 
  

   in 
  pursuit 
  of 
  the 
  Sprat, 
  and 
  sometimes 
  finding 
  itself 
  enfolded 
  in 
  the 
  

   meshes 
  of 
  the 
  nets 
  cast 
  for 
  these 
  fish. 
  The 
  present 
  example, 
  not 
  quite 
  

   twenty-two 
  inches 
  long, 
  was 
  taken 
  in 
  a 
  Sprat-net 
  off 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  

   Poole 
  Harbour, 
  Dorset, 
  in 
  January, 
  and 
  constitutes 
  a 
  new 
  record 
  for 
  

   that 
  county. 
  — 
  Fredk. 
  Pickard- 
  Cambridge 
  (Wimbledon). 
  

  

  