372 General Notes. { May, 
the Eastern United States is familiar with the spotted salamander, 
or water newt (Diemyctylus viridescens R.). 
In their adult dress (olive-brown above, yellow beneath, and a 
row of vermilion spots along each side) they can be seen in num- 
bers, from early April till the middle of June, in shallow pools, 
basking on the surface, or floating motionless with the slow cur- 
rent, or walking among the submerged plants. It is the only sala- 
mander I know whose habits are so diurnal that it enjoys the sun- 
shine. I have caught them by the dozen at noon on sunny days. 
In the spring they prefer open pools or streams of slow-moving 
water where there are no trees, but plenty of plants and tufts of 
grass. But later in the year, when the sun becomes torrid, when 
the streams of the marshes are shrunken, and temporary frog 
ponds are nothing but patches of dried and cracked mud, the 
adult spotted salamander is seldom seen. I suppose they are 
hidden among the roots and tufts of grass. At least my speci- 
mens in confinement always get in such places. 
I have kept them in a box filled with earth, grass and moss, in 
which there was always a dish of water standing, but they did not 
care to stay long at a time in the water. Sometimes they would 
not remain in it for weeks, although they walked through it many 
times in crawling around; and they ate and were as lively as 
to swim with ease. Afterwards the colors become dull and the 
fin is absorbed. In these particulars they resemble what is said 
of the Triton (?) cristatus of Europe. 
e eggs, which I have seen, are glued singly in the axils of 
leaves, or the terminal whorl of finely-divided leaves, or folded 
up in grass blades. Often the leaves are stuck so close to the 
Zodlogy, 1879, p. 479.) My observations differ from those of 
- Prof. Verrill and S. J. Smith (American Narturatist, Vol. 11, p. 
slender, with narrow heads and pointed noses. They can be dis- 
tinguished at all times from the stout broad-headed larve of Am- 
blystoma punctatum. I have caught adult specimens in the breed- 
ing season, placed them among plants where there were no eggs- 
They laid eggs in the axils of the plants, and the eggs hatched to 
larval spotted salamanders. In the manner of placing the eggs, 
