YOUNG OF THE SPOTTED SALAMANDER. 17 



an island in the middle, and a few plants of frogbit and water- 

 cress. 



On the 19th another young one was born, and on the 24th 

 three more made their appearance. A further batch of four was 

 produced on the 29th, followed by six more on the 30th. These 

 last were found on land, or rather on wet mud, not in the 

 water-tank, and were at the time all dead except two, which 

 showed signs of life, and, being put into water, soon completely 

 revived. 



As there is an interval of nearly four weeks between the birth 

 of the first and last batches, these tadpoles could not have been 

 the offspring of a single mother, and even if two females had a 

 share in their production, it is curious that the whole progeny of 

 each should not have been born at or near the same time, instead 

 of making its appearance in varying quantities at intervals dis- 

 tributed over a considerable period. 



I find that, according to my notes, the total number of tad- 

 poles on May 30th was twenty-three ; I must, therefore, have 

 omitted to jot down one birth. 



This number of young ones being too large for the home 

 prepared for them, some were put into a pond in a plantation 

 near the house. Those retained in the bowl were supplied with 

 food by adopting the ingenious method recommended by Mr. 

 Bateman, viz. by procuring from a ditch some«water containing 

 minute forms of animal life in abundance, and then, by means 

 of a syphon and some muslin, straining away a part of the 

 water, and using the remainder for feeding purposes. A portion 

 of this was given to the young Salamanders every morning. 



On May 18th, there being then only three tadpoles just over 

 a week old, I offered them some very small earthworms, which 

 they at once seized with great eagerness, and in a short time 

 succeeded in swallowing. After this they were supplied with 

 worms whenever any could be found small enough. In taking 

 their prey their motions were exceedingly violent and rapid ; in 

 fact, they went at it with headlong fury. They would follow 

 and seize the point of a wire held in front of them, and two of 

 them would sometimes make a simultaneous rush at the same 

 worm, seizing opposite ends. In fact, their behaviour much 

 resembled that of hungry Newts in the presence of their food. 



Zool. Hh ser. vol. XI., January, 1907. c 



