200 RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. 



the sole European representative of a genus which 

 belongs essentially to Africa. This prize was 

 Syntomis phegeenis, which at first sight looks more 

 like a large fly than a butterfly, for its body is long, 

 the wings are narrow and thrown backwards, whilst 

 in colour it is steel gray or blue, spotted with yellow- 

 ish white. In the meanwhile M. Edwards and 

 myself were trying to capture some reptiles, destined 

 for the curious menagerie which had been opened 

 at the Jardin des Plantes by M.M. Dumeril and 

 Bibron. After lifting a great number of stones with 

 an immense expenditure of labour, we succeeded in 

 entrapping in our boxes some pretty varieties of 

 lizards and a very fine skink. This animal, w^hich 

 very much resembles a lizard, presents no well 

 marked line of demarcation between the head, neck, 

 body, and tail, and is covered with smooth scales, as 

 glossy as if they had been varnished. This little 

 creature has long enjoyed an immense reputation in 

 medicine. Pliny extolled its flesh as a certain 

 specific against poisoned wounds ; and ancient for- 

 mularies attribute to it every kind of property, 

 whether depurative, stimulative, anthelmintic, ana- 

 leptic, aphrodisiac, anticancerous, &c. Even at the 

 present day Orientals regard it as a sort of universal 

 panacea. It is not surprising that in lands where 

 people still believe in these imaginary virtues, the 

 skink should be hunted with the most indefatio-able 

 zeal. In the deserts of Lower Egypt the natives 

 wage a ruthlessly exterminating w^ar against these 

 unfortunate lizards ; and, after having killed and 

 dried them, send them in sacks to Cairo and Alex- 



