68 Zoological Society, 



appearance of the ring-tailed monkey, when climbing, that a near- 

 sighted observer, like myself, would mistake them for some Sapajou 

 scrambling up the bark." 



The intelligence thus promised has just been communicated to me, 

 contained in the following letter from Stephen Minot, Esq., of Wor- 

 cester Lodge, to Richard Hill, Esq. 



" February 1848. 



" Dear Sir, — In nccordance with your request, I send you a few 

 particulars relative to the two Guanas that were seen during a period 

 of nearly two years, at Worcester Lodge, in the parish of St. Ca- 

 therine. 



" About the beginning of September 1844, a friend of mine, riding 

 into the property, observed, as he thought, a large green lizard bask- 

 ing in the sun on a hollow cashaw-tree {Prosopis juliflora), close by 

 the road. He struck at it with his riding- whip, and immediately 

 the animal disappeared with great swiftness into the tree. For 

 several weeks after this it was occasionally seen, but was extremely 

 shy, always disappearing the moment any one approached the tree. 

 I gave orders that no one should, under any pretence, frighten it 

 again, as a servant who had seen it informed me it was a Guana. 

 By degrees it got tamer ; and when I first saw it, it was, I should 

 think, from 10 to 11 inches long, including the tail. About a year 

 after this period it was always visible as soon as the sun became a 

 little warm, clinging to the bark of the tree, or crouching (if I may 

 use the term) along a small dry branch. I never saw it attempt to 

 catch flies, or ants, or any insects ; and the only time I ever detected 

 it feeding was about this period. One day after heavy rain, the sun 

 having broken through the clouds, shining very bright, it was then 

 eating the guinea-hen-weed (Petiveria), growing about ten yards 

 from the root of the cashaw. I watched it a few moments, unper- 

 ceived, and observed it walk very slowly, moving one leg at a time, 

 — cropping, and apparently swallowing without any further process, 

 a mouthful of leaf; and leaving an indenture on the plant of the size 

 of his mouth. Immediately on seeing me, by a succession of rapid 

 springs, neither running nor walking, nor was it like the hopping 

 of the frog, it regained the tree, and in a second was out of sight. 

 The hollow part of the tree is about seven feet from the ground. It 

 evidently did not object to the water, as there was a small lodgement 

 of water close by where it was feeding, through which it bounded 

 without a moment's hesitation, though it might have regained the 

 tree, if it had disliked the water, by going round the small swamp, 

 which was only say three or four yards in diameter. I mention this 

 circumstance of the water, as we had previously had dreadful dry 

 •weather, and I often wondered how the animals of this description 

 lived for want of it ; and it was never visible during or immediately 

 after rain. 



" It was, as you are aware, foolishly shot, in my absence, by j^oung 



N , under the false impression that it ate chickens. I have 



spoken of it in the singular number, as we were not aware there were 

 two, until Mr. N shot a second one on the same tree about 



