LIZARDS. 315 



almost uninhabitable for northerners, and when even 

 the natives are fain to take refuge in the mountains. 

 The term "aestivation," the opposite of "hiberna- 

 tion," is sometimes applied to this Summer sleep of 

 plants and animals. In elementary botany the word 

 has, of course, a different meaning. 



I have alluded to the common Gecko (Fig. 106), 

 or Fanfoot, in another chapter. The native name is 

 " Lagramua," but for some inscrutable reason it is 

 commonly called a " Tarantula." Cold weather makes 

 these creatures torpid. A number of them roll up 

 together into a ball, and lie hid in the crevices of an 

 old wall. The toes are flattened, and have on the 

 underside a series of plates like those on the back of 

 the sucking-fish. By means of this structure it can 

 cling to a smooth wall, or to the ceiling. It moves 

 noiselessly, and some species utter a mournful 

 sound ; at least the books says so. My daughter 

 tells me that she has often heard them squeak like 

 a mouse. 



Prince Bonaparte, " Fauna Italica," thus elo- 

 quently commences his article on the Gecko : " Vedi 

 un esempio dell' ingratitudine degli uomini. Quest' 

 innocente animaletto, chiamato Tarantola, intento 

 di continue a purgare i luoghi in cui vive, e sono 

 quegli stessi in cui viviam noi, da ragni, da zanzare, 

 e da un infinite, d'altri insetti molesti, non ha saputo 

 trarre altre ricompense dai beneficj che ci rende fuori 

 che calunnie e persecuzioni." (This harmless little 

 creature, which clears our houses of vermin, reaps 

 nothing but ingratitude.) 



One is inclined to suspect that the Gecko is 

 able to adapt his colour to that of the wall on which 



