LIZARDS. 319 



Wallace assures me that there is no poisonous lizard 

 in the Old World, and only one in the New. Shelley's 

 " Numidian Seps," if indeed so deadly a reptile ever 

 existed, has certainly no connection with our innocent 

 little lizard. The Greek root " Sep " or " Sap " means 

 " corruption " : hence we have " sapro-phyte," a plant 

 which lives on decaying organic substances, as do 

 many Fungi ; and " anti-septic," that is, " against 

 decomposition." 



