824 ILEX IN 



considerable value to the inhabitants. It is generally 

 found among, or upon, the branches of trees, but it 

 occasionally takes to the water. It is understood to 

 be in u (rreat measure, if not wholly, vegetable in its 

 feeding, living upon fruits, seeds, and leaves. The 

 feiuaJes lay a great number of eggs, which they depo- 

 sit in the sand to be hatched. These eggs are about 

 the same size as those of the pigeon ; but, as is the 

 case with the eggs of most reptiles, the t\vo ends are 

 alike in form. These eggs are accounted a great de- 

 licacy, and eagerly sought after on that account. The 

 flesh is held in nearly equal esteem ; and in conse- 



3 iii-iicc of this the animul is very much hunted. It is 

 ifficult to kill, which is a very common property of 

 reptiles ; and its skin is not easily pierced by a mus- 

 ket bullet, because if it strike obliquely, it glances off. 

 When attacked, they assume a formidable, though not 

 ft dangerous aspect ; they open their mouths, vibrate 

 their tongues with rapid motion, inflate their throats, 

 and erect their crests, while their eyes glance with 

 the brilliancy of live coals. All this, however, is a 

 demonstration for defence, and not for attack ; for 

 though they possibly may add insects to their vege- 

 table food, there is no reason to suppose that they 

 attack any animal of even the most moderate size. It 

 very often happens, indeed, that the attitude of the 

 iguana, and the peculiar sound which it gives, when 

 alarmed by its enemies in the woods, both warn man 

 of the danger to which he is exposed, and betray them- 

 selves to him as a prize. 



SMOOTH-NECKED IGUANA (/. nudicollis}. This 

 species resembles the last-described in many respects, 

 but it wants the large plates on the cheeks, and the 

 pyramidal scales on the sides of the neck. The upper 

 part of the head is covered with convex plates, the 

 occiput is tuberculated, and the collar is smaller than 

 the one last mentioned, and has only a few tubercles 

 on the anterior margin. Some describers have repre- 

 sented this species as being a native of the east as 

 well as of the west ; but that is a mistake, for it oc- 

 curs in no country except tropical America, and the 

 West India Islands. 



HORNED IOUANA (7. carnuta). This resembles 

 both of the preceding in most of its characters ; but it 

 is distinguished by an ossious point of bone which 

 stands up between the eyes, and is the part from 

 which the animal gets the incorrect name of horned. 

 There arc two projecting scales also in the nostrils, 

 but there is no plate on the cheek, and no tubercles on 

 the neck. The scales along the edges of the jaws 

 are, however, furnished with an elevated boss in the 

 middle of each. This species is found in the West India 

 islands, and especially in the island of St. Domingo. 

 Its food consists of vegetable substances, insects, and 

 small birds. The negroes hunt it with great avidity 

 for the sake of its flesh ; and the maroon dogs, or 

 blood-hounds, of the country, which used to be so 

 cruelly employed against the oppressed people of that 

 and some other of the islands, are now employed in 

 hunting the homed iguana. It is a day animal, and 

 while the light continues, it follows its prey with won- 

 derful assiduity ; but during the night.it remains con- 

 cealed in the holes of the rocks. During the rainy 

 season it retires, and becomes nearly, if not altogether, 

 dormant. 



CAROLINA IGUANA (7. Aychlura). This species is 

 found further to the north, and, like the last-mentioned 

 one, it passes the inclement season in a state of re- 

 pose. It has no large plate on the cheek, nor spines 



DIAN BAY. 



on the neck ; but the plates on the tail form a sort of 

 armour, from whicn the animal gets the trivial name. 

 It does not appear to differ much from the others in 

 its manners. 



BLUE IGUANA (I. ccerulea} is wholly of a violet 

 blue colour on the upper part, and the same colour, 

 but smaller, on the under. In size, it is considerably 

 less than any of the former, and the scales which form 

 the dorsal crest, or ridge, are much less produced. In 

 other respects, it scarcely differs from the rest ; and 

 therefore Cuvier is probably right in regarding it 

 as only a coloured variety. There is not indeed 

 a great deal of difference between the species of 

 iguana, and there is a similar correspondence in their 

 manners. 



Many other saurian reptiles, besides those which 

 we have enumerated, have been described as iguanas ; 

 but there are sources of error connected with the 

 lizard, against which it is not easy to guard, at least 

 on the part of those who. take museum specimens as 

 the foundation of their arrangements, because lizards 

 change very much after they are dead, and the bodies 

 of many are tender and easily mutilated. 



ILEX (Linnaeus). A fine useful genus of ever- 

 green trees and shrubs, commonly known by the name 

 holly. See HOLLY. They belong to the fourth 

 class of Linnaeus, and to the natural order Celastrinece. 

 Europe is the native clime of the common holly, but 

 there are various species found in many other parts 

 of the world. 



ILLICIUM (Linnaeus). A genus of Chinese and 

 American evergreen and deciduous shrubs, belonging 

 to Polyandria Polygynia, and to the natural order 

 MagnoliaceeE. Generic character : calyx from three 

 to six sepaled, deciduous, sepals unequal ; petals nine, 

 or more unequal ; stamens inserted into the recepta- 

 cle ; filament very short ; anthers erect, oblong, and 

 ernargined ; style very short ; stigma lateral oblong ; 

 capsules several, disposed in a circle, leathery, open- 

 ing at top, and containing each one seed. 



The plants of this genus are called aniseed-trees, 

 from their fine aromatic scent. The dried capsules 

 are called five-fingers in China, and in commerce 

 Chinese anise. When the plant grows naturally, the 

 capsules are used as a condiment, and chewed after 

 dinner as a sweetener of the breath. The bark, 

 when finely powdered, is used by the public watch- 

 men in Japan to make a timekeeper, or instrument 

 for measuring the hours, in order to direct when the 

 public bells are to sound. The 7. anisalum is a 

 favourite and rather hardy greenhouse plant, grows 

 well in loam and moor-earth, and may be propagated 

 by cuttings. 



IMPATIENS (Rivinus). A genus of curious 

 annuals. These plants are natives of many different 

 parts of the world. The flowers are pentandrious, 

 and the genus ranks among the Balsaminea:. The 

 plants have received their generic name from the 

 elastic properties of their capsules, to scatter the 

 seeds on being touched. One of them indigenous 

 in England is called Noli me tangerc, or Touch- 

 me-not. They were formerly associated with the 

 balsams. 



IMPERATA (Cyrilla). A genus of plants be- 

 longing to the GrantinecE, with elegant feather-like 

 spikes of flowers. Its strong reeds are used for many 

 purposes in the south of Europe. 



INDIAN BAY. This plant is the Laurut Indica 

 of Limucus. 



