THE SALAMANDER. 449 
fire, and to quench even the most glowing furnace with its icy body. It 
is singular how such ideas should have been so long promulgated, for 
although Aristotle repeated the tale on hearsay, Pliny tried the experiment 
by putting a Salamander into the fire, and remarks, with evident surprise, 
that it was burned to a powder. A piece of cloth dipped in the blood of a 
Salamander was said to be unhurt by fire, and certain persons had in their 
SALAMANDER. —(Salamandra macitlosa. ) 
possession a fireproof fabric, made, as they stated, of Salamander’s wool, 
but which proved to be asbestos. 
The Salavuander is a terrestrial species, only frequenting the water for the 
purpose of depositing its 
young, which leave the egg 
before they enter into inde- 
pendent existence. It is a \ > 
slow and timid animal, gene- Ay) if 
rally hiding itself in some 4 
eee crevice during wal AN 
the day, and seldom ven- { > 
turing out except at night or 
in rainy weather. It feeds 
on slugs, insects, and simi- 
lar creatures. During the 
cold months it retires into 
winter quarters, generally 
the hollow of some decay- 
ing tree, or beneath mossy 
stones, and does not reap- 
pear until the spring. ae 
The ground colour of this COMMON NEWT.— (7riton cristatus.) 
species is black, and the 
spots are light yellow. Along the sides are scattered numerous small 
tubercles. 
THE common NEWT, ASKER, EFFET, EFT, or EVAT, as it is indifferently- 
termed, is well known throughout England. At least two species of Newt 
GG 
