SEELYE: CIRCULATORY SYSTEM OF DESMOGNATHUS. 343 
(th.) tied through small holes in the rubber stopper. Another smaller 
perforation through the stopper received the end of a thistle tube 
(tt.). The stopper, with the animal thus attached, was then placed 
in the mouth of a glass bottle (6.) so that the head was outside and 
the body within the bottle. To make the joint tight around the ani¬ 
mal’s neck, and yet not constrict the neck, a piece of thin rubber tis¬ 
sue (r.) with two small perforations in it was stretched over the 
animal’s head and over the thistle tube, and tied tightly around the 
neck of the bottle, leaving the head and thistle tube outside as shown 
in fig. D. The bottle was then placed on its side with the animal’s 
dorsal side uppermost, and chloroform was introduced through the 
thistle tube which was afterwards closed by a stopper (s.). A piece 
Fig. D.— 6..bottle; cl., chloroform; ps., perforated rubber stopper; r., rubber tis¬ 
sue; s., stopper; th., thread tying in leg; tt., thistle tube. 
of absorbent cotton soaked in water was placed around the animal’s 
neck to prevent the escape of any fumes of chloroform at that place. 
Each animal was left for half an hour subject to this experiment. 
The head was constantly moistened and air fanned to it. The results 
were as follows. In the case of Desmognathus fusca the body moved 
in a lively manner at first, then became stiff and rigid and white with 
exuded slime. The head, however, responded to mechanical stimula¬ 
tion, and when the animal was released at the end of the half hour, 
although the body was rigid, the mouth was voluntarily opened wide 
repeatedly. The animal was put into the terrarium but died in two 
and a half hours. In the case of Diemyctylus viridescens, the lunged 
form, there were active breathing movements all the time that the 
experiment was going on. The mouth opened and shut with a snap¬ 
ping noise, and when the animal was released it moved its head volun¬ 
tarily. It was put back in the terrarium and died in five and a half 
hours. 
These results seem to show that the skin plays an important part in 
the respiration of both lunged and lungless forms, but that it is a rela- 
