THE LIZARD KIND. 



719 



seeming health ; and, on the contrary, those 

 taken from the water will live upon land. In 

 water, however, they exhibit a greater variety 

 in their appearance; and what is equally 

 wonderful with the rest of their history, during 

 the whole spring and summer this water- 

 lizard changes its skin every fourth or fifth 

 day; and during the winter every fifteen days. 

 This operation they perform by means of the 

 mouth and the claws; and it seems a work 

 of no small difficulty and pain. The cast 

 skins are frequently seen floating on the sur- 

 face of the water : they are sometimes seen 

 also with a part of their old skin still sticking 

 to one of their limbs, which they have not 

 been able to get rid of; and thus, like a man 

 with a boot half drawn, in some measure 

 crippled in their own spoils. This also often 

 corrupts, and the leg drops off; but the ani- 

 mal does not seem to feel the want of it, for 

 the loss of a limb to all the lizard kind is but 

 a trifling calamity. They can live several 

 hours even after the loss of their head : and 

 for some time under dissection, all the parts 



of this animal seem to retain life: but the tail 

 is the part that longest retains its motion. 

 Salt seems to be much more efficacious in 

 destroying these animals than the knife ; for 

 upon being sprinkled with it, the whole body 

 emits a viscous liquor, and the lizard dies in 

 throe minutes, in great agonies. 



The whole of the lizard kind are also 

 ' tenacious of life in another respect, and the 

 salamander among the number. They sus- 

 tain the want of food in a surprising manner. 

 One of them, brought from the Indies, lived 

 nine months, without any other food than 

 what it received from licking a piece of earth 

 on which it was brought over:" another was 

 kept by Seba in an empty vial for six months, 

 without any nourishment ; and Rhedi talks 

 of a large one, brought from Africa, that lived 

 for eight months, without taking any nourish- 

 ment whatever. Indeed, as many of this 

 kind, both salamanders and lizards, are tor- 

 pid, or nearly so, during the winter, the loss 

 of thejr appetite for so long a time is the less 

 surprising. 



CHAPTER CLXHI. 



OF THE CHAMELEON, THE IGUANA, AND LIZARDS OF DIFFERENT KINDS. 



IT were to be wished that animals could 

 be so classed, that by the very mentioning 

 their rank, we should receive some insight 

 into their history. This I have endeavoured 

 in most instances; but in the present chapter 

 all method is totally unserviceable. Here 

 distribution gives no general ideas: for some 

 of the animals to be here mentioned produce 

 by eggs ; some by spawn ; and some are vi- 

 viparous. The peculiar manner of propa- 

 gating in each, is very indistinctly known. 

 The Iguana and the Chameleon, we know 

 bring forth eggs ; some others ;ilso produce in 

 the same manner; but of the rest, which na- 

 turalists make amount to above fifty, we have 

 but very indistinct information. 



In the former divisions of this tribe, we had 

 to observe upon animals, formidable from 



their size, or disgusting from their frog-like 

 head and appearance; in the present divi- 

 sion, all the animals are either beautiful to 

 the eye, or grateful to the appetite. The 

 lizards, properly so called, are beautifully 

 painted and mottled; their frolicksome agility 

 is amusing to those who are familiar with 

 their appearance; and the great affection 

 which some of them show to man, should, in 

 some measure, be repaid with kindness. 

 Others, such as the fguana, though not pos- 

 sessed of beauty, are very serviceable, fur- 

 nishing one of the most luxurious feasts the 

 tropical climates can boast of. Those treat- 

 ed of before were objects of curiosity, be- 

 cause they were apparently objects of dan- 



Phil. Trans, ann. 1661. N. 21. art. 7. 



