208 The Field Naturalist 's Quarterly August 



been gladdened by the infinite variety displayed by the shapes 

 and markings of the pollen grains of plants, their seeds, and 

 the eggs of insects. True, nature still, as in the days of 

 Moses, discloses her beautiful marvels more and more to 

 those who will take the trouble to turn aside to see ; but 

 there is, indeed, a great waste in nature, if she has for 

 countless ages been building up these present-day diversities 

 of tint and shape to gratify the eyes of those few twentieth - 

 century men and women only who possess a "student's" 

 microscope and know how to use it. 



Reptile Studies. 



By Gerald Leighton, M.D., F.R.S.E. 



IX. British Lizards. 



In the minds of many people lizards are only one degree 

 less repulsive than snakes, and, indeed, the curse of the 

 serpent seems to have involved the whole class of reptiles 

 more or less. On the other hand, however, just as a good 

 many naturalists find the observation of snakes a most 

 fascinating study, an even larger number have admitted the 

 lizards to a place in their esteem. It is only necessary to 

 examine the animal contents of a dealer's shop, or the 

 headings of a catalogue, to ascertain that there must be a 

 considerable demand for lizards as pets in the vivarium, 

 and as the majority take extremely well to life in captivity 

 and are quite harmless, the explanation is not far to seek. 

 The majority of the lizards thus kept, however, are not, 

 strictly speaking, British species, unless we include under 

 that heading the Green lizard (Lacerta viridis) of the 

 Channel Islands and the Continent. This is a very favourite 

 species for the vivarium, and is one of the most beautiful 

 of lizards in colour and grace of movement. Those who 

 wish to know all about the methods of treatment for these 

 reptiles in captivity, and which species are best adapted for 

 that purpose, should consult the work by Rev. Gregory 

 Bateman {The Vivariuui), whom our readers know as a 

 contributor to these columns. The further life-history of 



