OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHAMELEON. i 79 



has brought me at different times eight, one large and seven smaller 

 ones, apparently of the same family. A large bird-cage keeps them 

 securely, but they are turned out upon the grass, or placed on trees in 

 the garden, for an hour or two daily, while a boy is employed to watch 

 them, catch grasshoppers, and feed them. In the cool of the morning 

 and evening they are not inclined to wander ; but when the sun is hot. 

 if they find that they are not watched, they are pretty sure to make 

 for the largest trees, and then there must be a general turn-out of spare 

 hands to look them up and capture them. As their quickest pace is 

 only about five feet per minute, they are never able to get far away, 

 unless too long neglected. There is great difficulty in finding them 

 sometimes, even though we may know pretty nearly where they are, 

 such is their adroitness in concealing themselves. 



"We have a small gardinia-tree, the top not three feet in diameter, 

 and the foliage not dense enough to conceal one of them, and yet, after 

 half a dozen of them had been placed upon the branches, I have looked 

 for two or three seconds without being able to distinguish one, though 

 on looking more intently I could see the whole without difficulty. So, 

 to enable us to see them when they wander, we tie a bit of scarlet Ber- 

 lin wool around their loins, which enables us to trace them easily. 

 Sometimes when on the trees the scarlet wool may be seen bright in 

 the sunshine when the little animals themselves are quite invisible. 



The chameleon has been an object of curiosity the world over on 

 account of its power to change its color, but its power to change its 

 form is not less remarkable. Sometimes it assumes the form of a dis- 

 consolate mouse sitting mum in a corner ; again, with back curved and 

 tail erect, it resembles a crouching lion, which no doubt gave origin to 

 its name, chamai-leon, or ground-lion. By inflating its sides it flattens 

 its belly, and viewed from below takes the form of an ovate leaf. The 

 tail is the petiole, while a white serrated line, which runs from nose to 

 tip of tail over the belly, becomes the midrib. Still again throwing 

 out the air, it draws in its sides, and at the same time expands itself 

 upward and downward till it becomes as thin as a knife, and then 

 viewed from the side it has the form of an ovate leaf without a midrib 

 but with the serrate line of the belly and the serrated back becoming 

 the serrated edges of a leaf. When thus expanded it also has the 

 power to sway itself over so as to present an edge to an observer, thus 

 greatly adding to its means of concealment. 



I have studied the changes of color with much interest. In its 

 normal state of rest it is of a light pea-green, at times blending with 

 yellow. The least excitement, as in handling, causes a change. The 

 groundwork remains the same, but transverse stripes appear running 

 across the back and nearly encircling the body in a full-grown animal, 

 numbering about thirty, and extending from head to tip of tail. These 

 stripes occupy about the same amount of space as the groundwork, 

 and are most susceptible to change of color. At first they become 



