314 CHAPTER XLIV. 



him and keep him as a curiosity ; but he made him- 

 self scarce. I have never seen another. Lizards 

 without any tail are extremely common, especially 

 where there are boys about. Virgil says that lizards 

 avoid the midsummer sun. I do not remember any 

 occasion when it was too hot for these little sala- 

 manders on the Riviera, though it is often much too 

 warm for a human being. But I have never (thank 

 heaven !) spent the whole Summer in Nice. So I 

 inquired of the natives whether the Wall Lizards 

 disappear at any time during the Summer or 

 Autumn. I was assured that they are always to be 

 seen. 



Perhaps in the latitude of Rome and Naples the 

 habits of the lizards may be different, for I am 

 unwilling to believe that Virgil is mistaken in so 

 simple a matter. 



It is natural that as we approach the tropics 

 we should begin to find traces of the conditions which 

 prevail in the torrid zone. Now, in some hot countries 

 insects and reptiles go into a Summer sleep during 

 the dry season, and the trees shed their leaves. As 

 we might expect from the heat and drought of the 

 Summer, there are traces on the Riviera of this period 

 of repose. The Laurustinus ( Viburnum tinus) for 

 instance, the Giant Euphorbia (E. dendroides), and 

 some other shrubs, lose their leaves in the latter 

 part of the Summer and put forth new ones in the 

 Winter. 



It is difficult to observe this phenomenon, and 

 to draw up a complete list of the plants and animals 

 which become torpid, for it happens just at that time 

 of year when the coast district of Liguria has become 



