THE SAND LIZARD. 29 



properties, which might be usefully employed in 

 various diseases.* 



In Mr. P. L. Simmonds's interesting and amusing 

 " Curiosities of Food," several species of reptiles 

 are enumerated as affording food to the natives in 

 the various countries in which the^ are found. Of 

 these, the Iguana holds one of the chief places in 

 public esteem. This is a gigantic lizard found in 

 many tropical countries, where it attains a length of 

 three feet, and has flesh " which is reckoned as 

 delicate as chicken, and but little inferior to turtle 

 in flavour." Humboldt remarks that in inter-tropi- 

 cal South America, all lizards which inhabit dry 

 regions are esteemed delicacies for the table. The 

 gigantic crocodide, alligator, gavial, and cayman, 

 are also served at repasts. This, however, is some- 

 what foreign to our subject, and all who are 

 interested in reptilian delicacies we must refer to 

 the book in question. 



The fossil Saurians of bygone ages were the 

 giants of those days. Dr. Mantell thought it pro- 

 bable that the largest iguanodons may have attained 

 a length of from sixty to seventy feet. The Labyrin- 

 thodons were also of considerable size. Remains and 

 traces of numerous reptiles have been found in the 

 strata of our own islands. " Impressions of the feet 



* See Moquin Tandon's " Medical Zoology," p. 69, 



