quist thought they arose from jaundice; Kircher, from 

 the imagination of the animal ; Solinus, from reflec- 

 tion ; Wormius, from the affections of the mind, an 

 opinion nearly that of Lacepede; Shaw and the French 

 academicians, from exposure to the sun. Pliny and 

 Russel concur that the animal takes the colour of the 

 body with which it may happen to be in contact. 

 D'Obsonville, Dumeril, Cuvier, Barrow, and the authors 

 in Rees's Cyclopaedia and the Edinburgh Encyclo- 

 paedia, seem to think that the change is somehow con- 

 nected with the functions of respiration. Mr. Spittal 

 believes that the colour depends upon the quantity or 

 tint of the blood sent to the skin at different times ; 

 and thinks that, from the translucency of the skin, it is 

 probable that the particular states of its surface must 

 also have a share in the production of colour, by 

 affecting the rays of light differently at different 

 times. It is to be regretted that the effects of elec- 

 trical stimuli, and the insulated colours of the prism 

 have not been tried. 



The following paragraph, on the habits of the cha- 

 meleon, is extracted from the " Calcutta Journal :" 

 " I have kept," says the writer, " chameleons in a cage 

 several months, narrowly watching them, and have 

 placed them on different substances for the sake of 

 experiment. I never saw an alteration in their co- 

 lour, but merely a variation in their shade, from a 

 light yellowish green to a very dark olive green ; the 

 mottles were always visible, though changed similarly 

 with the shades. The chameleon's tongue, which is 

 nearly three parts the length of his body, is blunt at 

 the end, and not unlike a common probe. From the 

 end of it exudes a small quantity of matter, thick, 

 clear, and glutinous. This he uses in obtaining his 

 prey, which consists entirely of insects. He will re- 

 B 5 



