60 THE BLUE-TAILED SKINK. 



advertisement of any patent medicine, together with the list of maladies for which it is a 

 certain remedy. 



Even in the present day, this medicine is in great vogne among the sages of the Eastern 

 Hemisphere. Should the reader happen to travel into eastern lands, and fall sick of a fever, 

 be afflicted with a sunstroke, find himself suddenly smarting with a nettle-rash, catch a cold, 

 or suffer from sand-blindness, the remedy which will, in all probability, be offered to him, 

 will consist of this universal panacea. In the time of the ancients, the Skink was in much 

 favor as a medicine, and was imported largely to Rome, ready prepared in white wine. The 

 heads and feet were considered the most efficient portions of the animal, and were relied upon 

 as infallible renovators of a constitution broken by age, or shattered by excess. 



Wherever modern civilization has most penetrated, the Skink has, happily for itself, fallen 

 greatly in medical estimation, and in some places is entirely rejected from the pharmacopeia ; 

 though there are not wanting some European physicians who assert that the creature really 

 does possess some valuable properties, but that it has fallen into disrepute through the over- 

 estimate which had been formed of its powers, and which naturally created a reaction in the 

 opposite direction. 



In Southern Egypt it still commands the firm belief of the people, and is hunted down 

 with the greatest zeal, as it not only can be applied to the personal ailings of the captors, but 

 can be quickly dried in the burning sunbeams, and sent to Cairo and Alexandria, where it 

 commands a ready sale. 



In its habits, this Skink much resembles the generality of terrestrial Lizards of its size 

 and locality. As it seeks for safety below the sand, it is generally to be seen upon the hillocks 

 of fine loose sand which are collected by the south wind, at the foot of any tree which may 

 manage to survive in so ungenial a soil, or are blown against the hedges of the more cultivated 

 land. It generally lies quietly upon the sand, but occasionally starts into vigorous action 

 when it perceives an insect passing within easy reach, makes a sudden rush, captures its prey, 

 and subsides again into its former inactive repose. Beetles are its favorite food, and of these 

 insects it will eat a considerable quantity, but can preserve life for a lengthened period without 

 taking any food at all. 



Should it be disturbed, it instantly sinks below the sand, with almost magical quickness ; 

 and, according to M. Lefebvre, who collected a great number of these Lizards, a few seconds 

 suffice it for constructing and retiring into a burrow several feet in depth. Although armed 

 with tolerably strong teeth and claws, it does not attempt to bite when captured, and any 

 scratch inflicted on the hand of the captor is merely caused by its struggles while endeavoring 

 to effect its escape. 



The general color of the Officinal Skink is reddish dun, crossed with bands of a darker 

 hue above. Below and upon both the flanks, it is of a silvery whiteness. It is, however, 

 liable to considerable variations, of which the most important may be briefly denoted as 

 follows : In one variety, the upper parts are yellow, or silver-gray, witli seven or eight large 

 brown spots on the sides. In another, the head is yellow, the upper parts are chestnut-brown, 

 profusely sprinkled with little white spots, each scale having two, or even three, white dots 

 upon the surface. The back is marked with a series of broad white bands, generally five or 

 six in number, and having a black patch at either extremity of each band. In another variety, 

 the upper parts are silvery-gray, splashed with pure white, and variegated with irregular 

 brown spots. But however great may be the variations, they are all confined to the upper 

 surface, the abdomen, flanks, and under surface retaining their beautiful silvery whiteness. 

 The banded variety is the most common. The Officinal Skink is by no means a large reptile, 

 seldom exceeding eight inches in length, and being generally about six or seven inches long. 

 The specimen shown in our illustration is drawn of its natural size. 



The Skinks form a family of which fifty genera and one hundred and fifty species are 

 enumerated, distributed thronghtout all parts of the world. Of these the BLUE-TAILED SKINK 

 (Eamcces fasciatus) is very abundant in the Southern States, east of the Rocky Mountains. 

 It is black, with fine yellow streaks, the middle one forked on the head. The tail is mostly 

 blue. 



