15 



black, has been clearly proved. He also mentions that, 

 being shut up in a box, and put on white paper, it be- 

 comes yellow and green, and affirms that it can assume 

 only these four colours. Mademoiselle Scuderi, in 

 her observations and experiments, states, that, being 

 exposed to the sun, the chameleon often changes its 

 colour, without taking that of the superficies on which 

 it moves. 



Professor Blumenbach has not, that we are aware, 

 given us any where his opinion on the change of colour 

 in the chameleon; but one of his friends, to whom that 

 opinion was verbally communicated, informed us, that 

 he considered the varied colours to depend on the 

 angles of position in relation to the eye. That the 

 change of colour, however, is real, and not a deceptio 

 visuS)iioone can for a moment doubt who has accurately 

 observed the phenomenon : the change of colour often 

 takes place instanter, without change of position either 

 in the animal or the eye of the observer, and the dif- 

 ference of temperature proves this reality. It is also 

 well ascertained, that the animal does not assume the 

 colour of the surface it traverses. It seems, therefore, 

 altogether demonstrable, that the change of colour in 

 the chameleon is ascribable to the circulation, as 

 affected by its instinct passion, excited or roused to 

 action ; and that light, acting on this circulation through 

 the cuticular membrane, may, in virtue of its electric or 

 calorific power, deepen the shade of the bands and 

 spots: the entire shade will often be observed to fade 

 away, or increase in depth and intensity ; oftentimes 

 the changes are only partial, and exhibited on some 

 particular parts of the body; when handled, it appears 

 to be dark green. If wrapped in linen, it seems 

 whitish when withdrawn, though this does not always 

 happen. When the one we saw at Exeter 'Change, how- 



