IV 



CONTENTS. 



Gardens Habits, Ac., of the Bird The Marsupiates, or 

 Purse-Bearers The Thylacinus Cynocephalus, or dog- 

 faced Opossum Specimen in the Zoological Society's 

 Gardens The Kangaroo Professor Owen's observa- 

 tions and experiments upon this animal Remarks 

 thereon Further account of the Thylacines Specula- 

 tions upon the mode of reproduction of the ornithorhyn- 

 chus and echidna The Hippopotamus of the Zoological 

 Society Its organization Professor Owen's account of 

 the animal alluded to General appearance and habits 

 described Sparrman and Mr. Gumming The mode of 

 capture of the Society's Hippopotamus, and account of 

 its voyage Its attendants General remarks, . . 52 



PART IX. 



Scriptural and classical allusions to Serpents commented 

 upon Their bite and its antidote Snake-charmers 

 Hasselquist's and Bruce's opinions The feats of the 

 Arab Snake-charmers, at the Zoological Gardens, de- 

 scribed The gift of snake-charming said to be heredi- 

 tary The Kpughslang, or " Spitting-Snake " The Asi- 

 atic form of this genus of serpents described Taming 

 Serpents, as related by Dr. Davy Captain Knox's 

 experience on this subject Cingalese veneration for 

 Serpents Their legends concerning these reptiles 

 Poison of venomous Serpents; Dr. Mead's opinion there- 

 on Mr. Bell's experiments in investigating the anat- 

 omy of venomous Snakes Case of a carpenter bitten by 

 one of these reptiles Similar instance given by Dr. 

 Mead His advice in such cases His mode of curing a 

 Dog Viper-wine and Viper-broth Remarks upon the 

 poison and its nature Authorities cited General re- 

 marks, 63 



PART X. 



Attraction of the reptile-house in the Garden of the Zo- 

 ological Society Fixedness of attitude of the reptiles 

 Its cause explained Adaptation of color of creatures 

 in general to their haunts instanced throughout the 

 animal creation Effects of the bite of a serpent upon 

 two dogs Remedies adduced Snakes in the reptile- 

 house Discrepancies of Reptile organization The 

 Land Tortoise described Their immense size Ameri- 

 can mode of immortalizing names Large Land-Tor- 

 toises short-lived in England White's tortoise; its 

 peculiarities Redi's experiments upon the Land-Tor- 

 toise Its enduring vitality instanced Franklin's Flies 

 Extraordinary longevity of a Fly The Land, Marsh, 

 River, and Sea Tortoises General remarks, . . .76 



PART XI. 



The Turtle Professor Owen's observations Difference 

 between the Turtle and the Land Tortoise defined The 

 Green Turtle Chantrey and turtle-soup The " Alder- 

 man's Walk " A Turtle feast- Supper of Claudius 

 Albinus Wine-bibbing propensities of the ancient 

 Romans Use of Tortoiseshell in Rome Large skull 

 of a Turtle Remarks on the natural history and cap- 

 ture of Turtles Sloane's account of a Turtle diet La- 

 bat's opinion thereon Mode of quieting Turtles, to 

 avoid their bite Protracted struggle between a slave 

 and a Turtle Mode of capture Pliny's account of it 

 Turtle-divers A Turtle-chase Account of the Re- 



mora Of Turtles and their uses Allusions and general 

 remarks in relation to the Tortoise, 88 



PART XII. 



Geological remarks Fossil foot-prints Egyptian legends 

 connected with the form of the Crocodile Methods of 

 capture Crocodile-executioners Ancient superstitions 

 connected with the Crocodile Sacred to the Egyptians 

 Nature of the Crocodile Its protectors Crocodiles 

 destructive of the human race Sonnini's remarks on 

 the Crocodile Bait used for taking it by the ancient 

 fishermen-^Crocodiles and gladiators Supposed medici- 

 nal uses of the Crocodile Peculiarities in the organiza- 

 tion of the Crocodilian family Difference between the 

 Alligator and the Crocodile Food of the Alligator 

 Their mode of reproduction Ravenous and ferocious 

 disposition Capture of an Alligator, as related by Sir 

 Hans Sloane The Alligator's habit of swallowing 

 stones General remarks, 98 



PART XIII. 



The Chameleon Its habits Change of color, and living 

 on air ; the former well founded, the latter a fallacy 

 Hasselquist's experiments A tame Chameleon Con- 

 clusion as to the principal agent in change of color 

 D'Obsonville's opinion Structure and properties of the 

 colorific stratum of the skin Mechanism by which 

 changes of color are effected in the marine animals 

 generally Form of the Chameleon Mode of taking 

 its prey Pliny's account-' The Chameleon eaten by 

 the Chinese Supposed virtue of various parts of the 

 Reptile Its medicinal properties The Viper Its or- 

 ganization Mode of destroying the tribe Capture of a 

 Rock-Snake Its extraordinary dimensions A Malay 

 crushed to death by a Serpent Captain Stednmn's 

 encounter with a Snake lurcher's account of the bene- 

 fit derived by man from the serpent race Carver's in- 

 stances of its docility Snake-worship Serpent-idols at 

 Mexico, 110 



PART XIV. 



General remarks upon climate Condition of the Hippo- 

 potamus at the Society's Gardens The great Land 

 Tortoise there Escape of the White Bear Its capture 

 Improvement suggested in keeping the Reptiles 

 Serpents and their food Supposed virtue of the fat of 

 Serpents A negro bitten by a Serpent Antidote for the 

 bite of the deadly Cobra Penalty for killing a Fetish 

 Snake Fascination of Serpents generally believed in 

 America A pet Toad Peculiar formation of the tongue 

 of the Toad A valuable " bit of its skeleton " Poison- 

 ous exudation from the Toad Dr. Buckland's experi- 

 ments The Zoological Society's Reptile-house on a 

 summer night Death of the Land Tortoises in the 

 Society's Gardens The Crested Pigeons there Curi- 

 ous organization of the Dove kind Parrots, Macaws, 

 Ac.; their mode of feeding each other "Pigeon's 

 milk ; " the joke not altogether groundless Columbidae 

 The Passenger-Pigeon Its power of flight The 

 Carrier-Pigeon Its derivation Proneness to domesti- 

 cation in the tame Pigeon Breeding-places in the 

 States of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana Vast Bights 

 of Pigeons Fertility of the Dove kind Conclusion, 122 



