72 TENACITY OP LIFE. 



people have different reasons. Some think that it 

 is for the purpose of preventing too ready an access 

 of water, and so to retard their hatching ; while some 

 say that it is to guard the egg against voracious 

 water-animals. To the latter opinion I rather in- 

 cline ; perhaps both may be right. 



When hatched, the young newt is very like a 

 tadpole, breathing by gills outside its neck. After 

 a while the gills vanish and the legs appear ; but it 

 keeps its tail. It is rather curious that the frog tad- 

 pole puts forth its hinder-legs first ; while in the 

 tadpole of the newt, the fore-legs are the first to 

 show themselves. 



After the gills are lost, the newt breathes by means 

 of lungs ; and if it is in the water, is forced to rise at 

 intervals for the purpose of breathing. 



The tenacity with which these creatures cling to 

 life is quite surprising. Experiments have been tried 

 purposely to see to what degree a body could be 

 mutilated, and yet retain life. They have even been 

 frozen up into a solid block of ice, and, after the 

 thawing of their cold prison, revived, and seemed 

 none the worse for it. I may as well mention that 

 none of these experiments were tried by myself, for 

 I am not scientific enough to care nothing for the 

 infliction of pain ; but on one occasion I did try an 

 experiment, and, as it turned out, a very cruel one, 

 although it was not intended for an experiment. 



I was studying the anatomy of the frogs and 



