ad AD I a ns hn ha he te ae Sn >. 
BA en ate eet. a eee a Te ee 
1836.] Notes on the Life-history of the Common Newt. 19 
attacked by the wire-worms, pieces of flesh being eaten out of 
their living bodies. One had coiled so tightly round its victim 
it was paralyzed and died directly I removed it. Though so 
abundant, yet large numbers when young are devoured by the 
strong larvæ of the Amdlystoma punctatum ; the robust frog tad- 
poles also mercilessly nip off their gills and tails, and they soon 
die. These facts I have often witnessed in my aquarium. 
Everyone knows these pretty olive-backed newts, yellow 
underneath, the whole body and tail spotted black, and on the 
sides a row of flame-colored spots encircled black, but every- 
one does not know, and perhaps never saw the change that takes 
place on the approach of spring, when the males assume their 
brightest dress preparatory to courtship. Over the back and 
tail waves a graceful spotted crest, the color underneath changes 
to orange, and the inner side of the legs is deeply barred jet 
black—all of which last during the breeding season and then the 
crest is absorbed, the black bars and bright color fade out till the 
next love time of the year calls them forth. 
I believe this animal is incapable of reproduction under four 
years of age, for its growth is very slow even in its natural state. 
When the love-making commences there is a busy time amongst 
the denizens of the ponds. The males dart about, gyrating round 
their chosen mates, heading them off in their endeavors to escape, 
and when they have at last won the victory they seize the females 
round the lumbar region and remain thus often for hours. The 
milt and ova pass simultaneously, and the operation takes some 
time, but it is generally accomplished under cover of darkness. 
The older females often deposit 150 to 300 eggs at a time, which 
they attach to twigs in the water or long grass. The eggs are 
very small at first but rapidly swell. Younger females only 
from twenty to fifty eggs in a small group. 
I am not aware of any one having published any account of 
the hatching of the eggs of D. viridescens except Professor A. E. 
Verrill, who, in the Amer. NaTuRALIST for 1870, wrote as follows : 
“ The eggs of the common water newt were observed by Mr. S. J. 
Smith and myself at Norway, Maine, in ’63 and ’64, attached in 
round masses, two or three inches in diameter, resembling frogs’ 
eggs, on stems of water plants in ditches in a meadow. The eggs 
were found May 5th, and reared by Mr. Smith, hatched May 
17th, and by October 1st were one and a half inches long. They 
