102 THE VIVARIUM. 
and are very iuteresting. 'lhey may be kept in a warm case all 
the winter, or allowed to hibernate, if they are in good condition, 
in the usual way. 
It has been said of Lacerta vivipara as of the Viper, and other 
viviparous Snakes—that it refuges its young. This is decidedly 
doubtful. 
The Common and other Lizards seize their prey in rather a 
dog-like fashion, and lick their jaws after swallowing it. 
The following, communicated to the Zoologist for June, 1889, 
by Mr. Boulenger (I believe), shows the vitality of the Common 
Lizard: ‘‘Mr. R. H. Ramsbotham, Waterside, Todmorden, has 
sent to the British Museum for examination a Viper and Lizard 
in spirits with the following remarks: ‘The Adder was caught 
. on April 24, 1889, about noon. It was kept in this 
battle without spirit till the following morning, between nine and 
ten, when the bottle was filled. Immediately after this was done, 
the Lizard (which is still in the bottle, and has not been touched) 
crawled out of the snake’s mouth, and was quite lively for a short 
time.’ Observations: 1. Vipers sometimes swallow Lizards, 
though generally small Rodents. 2. That the Snake did not use 
its poison apparatus in seizing its prey. 3. That the Lizard 
lived for nearly twenty-four hours in the gullet of the Viper. 
The Lizard was an adult female (Lacerta vivipara).”’ I suppose 
that the general appearance of the Common Lizard is so well 
known that no description is necessary, beyond later on com- 
paring it with the Wall Lizard (Lacerta muralis) for the sake of 
facilitating the identification of the latter. 
According to Mr. Boulenger, the colours of this species are: 
‘‘Brown, yellowish, or reddish above in the adult, with small 
darker and lighter spots; frequently a blackish vertebral streak 
and a dark lateral band edged with yellowish; lower surfaces 
orange or vermilion in the male, largely spotted with black ; 
yellow or pale orange in the female, immaculate or scantily spotted 
with black. Newly-born young almost black, which colouration 
sometimes persists in the adult.” 
Common Lizards may be bought during the summer months in 
London and other large towns at from 4d. to 6d. each. These 
creatures quickly reproduce a lost tail, the reproduced part for a 
