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NATURAL HISTORY. 



The Gila monster is our largest lizard, reaching a length of three feet 

 and over. Its body is covered with tuberculated scales, and its colors are 

 black and orange. It lives in Mexico and crosses the boundary line into 

 New Mexico and Arizona. Its large size and peculiar appearance make it 

 a rather common inhabitant of museums and zoological gardens. 



Fig. 361. — Monitor ( Varanus niloticus). 



The monitors, which inhabit the eastern hemisphere, differ considerably 

 from the forms so far mentioned, in that they live semi-aquatic lives. The 

 typical species, the monitor of the Nile, is a celebrated creature, on account 

 of the amount of folk-lore that has accumulated around it; the principal 

 feature of which is that it acts, as its name implies, as the monitor of the 

 crocodile. In reality it is a really beneficial animal, for its favorite diet is 

 crocodile eggs, and in this way it aids to no inconsiderable extent in keep- 



