CHAMELEONS. 79 



capture which it has no powers of pursuit, for 

 its motions are slow in the extreme. To this 

 slowness there is indeed one exception, without 

 which the creature would starve. Its habit is 

 to lie in ambush, as it were, among the leaves, 

 and watch for flies and other insects that may 

 by chance alight or crawl within reach of its 

 tongue. This organ, as we have said, is capable 

 of being projected to a great length with great 

 rapidity and precision ; its tip, which is dilated, is 

 somewhat tubular, and secretes a glutinous fluid, 

 to which, when suddenly launched, the prey ad- 

 heres, and is in an instant retracted into the mouth. 

 Some interesting details of the action of this 

 organ, as observed in a state of captivity, are given 

 in a paper by Mr. Houlston, published in the 

 " Transactions of the Irish Society :" " When a fly, 

 so maimed as not to be able to escape, but still 

 sufliciently vigorous to move its legs and wings, 

 was so placed that its fluttering might attract 

 the Chameleon's attention, the animal advanced 

 slowly until within tongue's reach of it ; then, 

 steadying itself like a pointer, sometimes stretch- 

 ing out its tail, sometimes fixing it against an 

 adjacent body, and directing both eyes steadfastly 

 on the prey, it slowly opened its mouth and 

 suddenly darted forth its tongue, which advancing 

 in a straight line, seldom failed of striking, wdth 

 its glutinous cupped extremity, the object aimed 

 at. Near the point of the tongue there is a 

 small gland, which secretes a glutinous fluid, but 

 even when the point happened to err, the prey 

 did not always escape, sometimes adhering to the 

 sides of the tongue. The tongue thus laden, 

 then retired into the mouth, but somewhat more 



