field naturalists' club. 131 



Seen by day the owl's great round yellow staring eyes an 1 curious 

 threatening antics when molested, add to the general impression 

 of weirdness with which he is surrounded. For these reasons he 

 is shot without pity, when of all living things his life should be 

 protected by Ordinance and every means in our power. They 

 are the most useful of the birds of prey, b:ciuse their habits 

 coincide with the rats and mice in being nocturnal. 

 From birds we will descend still further. Of all created 

 things and of all misunderstood thing-;, reptiles are the most 

 abhorred, the least understood. Their obscure life, their cold 

 touch, their slow, stealthy, or sudden and impulsive movements, 

 their creeping, hopping, crawling, their odd attitudes, their 

 glassy stare, their apparent sudden changes of appearance have 

 raised for them a host of enemies, whereas amongst the vast 

 army of animals there are few which enact such an important 

 part or are more untiring in their exertions for the benefit of 

 man. Here is a notable example ; of what earthly use is yonder 

 hideous alligator"' with his basilisk eyes and grinning rows of 

 jagged teeth 1 Yet in some of the Southern United States, it 

 has been found necessary to inflict a fine of $25 upon any one 

 killing an alligator for the n^xt two years and to establish a close 

 season in order that the sugar cultivation may be saved. The 

 alligators had been shot for their hides, and their chief item of 

 consumption, the rats on the estates bordering the lagoons and 

 livers, had increased to such an alarming extent that sugar cul- 

 tivation could hardly be carried on and legislation had to step 

 in to save the " horrid " alligators in order that the cane cultivation 

 might not be abandoned altogether. Now I don't for one mo- 

 ment mean to say that the alligators of Trinidad are so useful 

 as those of the United States, but no doubt they do good in their 

 way and perhaps, if their numbers were appreciably decreased 

 we might wish to see them back again. But let us turn our 

 attention to a very common little lizard. Most lizards according 

 to popular belief are poisonous and the common geckof is a very 

 Borgia amongst the saurians, if vulgar report is to be believed. 

 They are called "wood-slaves,"" Vingt-quatre heures"or "Twenty- 

 four hours," yet they are perfectly harmless and at the same time, 

 like many other harmless and useful things, remarkably plain 

 and common-place to the unthinking observer. They have 

 clumsy forms, fat sprawling feet, large staring, hideous eyes 

 which flash like black diamonds in the light of the candle and 

 their tails are covered with minute, thorny looking excrescenec . 

 Like the bat and owl, the poor, little. Ugly, useful gecko 

 has endured centuries of calumny and yet goes on his way, 



* Caiman sclerops, Sthneid 



f Hemidactylus mabuia, Mor tie Joun. 



