The animal may be easily captured with a fish-hook, baited with a fish, frog, or several earth-worms, and tied to a string a few feet in length. This is thrust by the aid of a small bamboo-stick into the salamander's retreat. The string is not tied to the stick, but the point of the loaded hook is forced into one end of it, far enough to keep it in place while this end of the rod is pushed under the rock. When the bait has been thus brought near the salamander, any bite will be instantly felt through the {100}rod. The latter is then withdrawn as quietly as possible, the hook and bait being left. As soon as a jerk of the string is noticed, a pull is made, which generally ends in the capture of the unfortunate animal. If the first pull should fail, the bait is replaced as before, and a second opportunity is offered, which the unwary creature accepts as readily as the first. The fisherman, having obtained one bite, is sure of ultimate success, as the salamander does not learn by experience to refuse the proffered morsel. When captured, it emits a peculiar slimy secretion, having an odour much like that of the leaves of the Japan pepper (_Xanthoxylon peperitum_). This secretion hardens into a gelatinous mass after a short exposure to the air. Temminck and Schlegel state that the act of inspiration is ordinarily performed once every 6-10 minutes. This is true for specimens kept in tubs; but Sasaki is inclined to think that they perform this act less frequently in their native brooks. The eyes are so small that they are obviously of little importance; the salamanders capture their prey not by pursuing, but by waiting for its near approach, whereupon they seize it with their teeth by a swift lateral movement of the head. The eggs are said to be laid in August and September, and they form a string resembling a rosary. Each egg floats in a clear fluid, inclosed in a bead-shaped gelatinous envelope, and this is connected with the next by means of a comparatively small string. The egg measures about 6 mm. by 4 mm., and is yellow everywhere except at the upper pole, where it is whitish. All attempts to make _Cryptobranchus_ breed in captivity have failed hitherto, owing no doubt to the difficulty of obtaining the cool temperature of its mountain streams. Sasaki's smallest specimens measured 19 to 20 cm. These had three pairs of very short branchial processes, from 3 to 5 mm. in length, attached just inside the branchial orifice. Each process was somewhat flattened and tapering, most of them still with branchlets. In another specimen, 20.5 cm. in length, the gills had almost wholly disappeared, but the branchial slits were still visible. One of 24.5 cm. length showed no trace of gills, and the branchial orifice was completely closed, but still marked by a light streak. {101}[Illustration: FIG. 18.–_Amphiuma means._ × ⅕.]