10 OUR REPTILES. 



growth is impeded, the circulation is tardy, respira- 

 tion is low, and the semblance of death is almost 

 complete. In the spring the warm sun quickens 

 their blood, awakens them from their dreams, and 

 again they crawl or leap into active existence, to 

 the terror of " unprotected females " and the insect 

 life on which they prey. 



The curious habit they have of changing their 

 habits, or casting off the outer cuticle of their skins 

 periodically and then devouring them, offers an 

 economical suggestion to those who advocate " the 

 utilization of waste substances," in respect to cast- 

 off clothes. Indeed, we are not altogether innocent 

 of devouring our old clothing, but with this differ- 

 ence between ourselves and the reptiles, they appro- 

 priate them immediately and in their unchanged 

 condition, ours suffer mutilation, and manifold 

 intermediate changes, before they enter our mouths. 



Although Eeptiles are neither sufficiently nu- 

 merous nor venomous in our temperate climes to 

 give the traveller serious alarm, such is far from 

 being the case in tropical countries. There we con- 

 sequently hear of snake remedies, snake charms, 

 and snake charmers, to an almost unlimited extent. 

 Anyone who has paid attention to the Materia 

 Medica of hot climates knows how common "snake- 

 roots " and antidotes to snake poison are in all such 

 countries. In many instances these substances are 



