T* 
BAT RAC HI AN S» 
Newts. — Almost every established pond teems with these 
creatures during the spring and early summer months. As soon as 
the winter has passed newts give up their terrestrial habits and 
become aquatic. When they first enter the water the sexes look 
very much alike, but if the weather be congenial the male smooth 
newt soon assumes an olive hue on the upper parts, while under- 
neath bright spots of red and yellow appear. At the same time the 
thin narrow tail gradually broadens and becomes more suited for 
swimming, and a crest forms down the back from the head to the 
tip of the tail. The female, however, does not put on such a 
gorgeous uniform ; she merely assumes a light mud colour on the 
dorsal parts, while below she is creamy white. The tail also 
broadens, but no appreciable crest appears A few weeks after 
entering the ponds she begins to lay her eggs singly. Carefully she 
bends over a leaf of some aquatic plant with her hind legs and 
deposits an egg within the fold. The egg is a whitish sphere no 
bicger than a pin’s i;ead and surrounded with a gelatinous mass 
which causes it to adhere tightly to the enveloping leaf. Some three 
or four weeks afterwards the egg hatches, and the tadpole wriggles 
out to start the battle of life on its own account. At this sta^e it is 
minutely small, with a pair of enormous eyes compared with the 
creature's bulk, and a feathery gill hangs from either side of the 
head. Its food consists of the tiny creatures, such as water-fleas 
and Cyclops, found in every stagnant pool. The front legs are the 
first to appear as it rapidly grows, and by September the hind pair 
have made their appearance. Soon after this the creature begins to 
come to the surface to breathe, and the gills are gradually absorbed. 
Then the young newt quits the water, and, according to some authori- 
ties, does not re-enter it until two summers have passed. As soon as 
the breeding season is over the crests and broad tails of the adults begin 
to shrink, and at about the end of July the newts leave the water 
and hide under stones, fallen tree trunks, and such places. Then 
their skin is rough and dry, and both sexes have the appearance of 
the one figured in our plates. On wet nights numbers of these 
summer newts may be met with, hunting for worms. At the 
approach of winter they force themselves into moss-lined crevices, 
boles in the roots of trees, or any other damp places well out of the 
reach of frost. There they spend their time in a state of torpor till 
the following spring revives them. Britain has only three indi- 
genous species. The largest is the Triton, known also as the 
Great Water Newt, Great Crested Newt, or Warty Newt. Our 
illustrations will make only a brief reference to their colours neces- 
sary. Both male and female have very rough, warty skins, some- 
times black, sometimes of a chocolate colour. Both types are 
spotted with minute whitish dots. On the under surface the lighter 
colour varies from lemon-yellow to orange-red, and the darker mark- 
ings are usually black. The male during the breeding season has a 
ragged crest along its back and a bright silvery stripe on either side 
of the tail. The female is without both crest and stripe, the tail 
being merely broadened for swimming. 
TheSmooth Newt is by far the commonest of the three. Inlikely 
waters it literally swarms at the right time of the year. The male 
is olive green, mottled or spotted with a darker tint, while under- 
neath the colour is whitish, spotted or blotched with red and yellow. 
The crest is furni-hed with a series of knobs and is continuous from 
the head to the tip of the tail. The female is brown on the back 
