THE FLYING DEAGON. 501 



From the aspect of this long-tailed, dewlapped, scaly, spiny Lizard 

 most persons would rather recoil than feel attracted, and the idea of 

 eating the flesh of so repulsive a creature would not be likely to occur 

 to them. Yet, in truth, the flesh of the Iguana is justly reckoned 

 among one of the delicacies of the country where it resides, being 

 tender and of a peculiarly delicate flavor, not unlike the breast of a 

 spring chicken. There are various modes of cooking the Iguana, 

 roasting and boiling being the most common. Making it into a fric- 

 assee, however, is the mode which has met with the largest general 

 approval, and a dish of Iguana cutlets, when properly dressed, takes a 

 very high place among the delicacies of a well-spread table. 



The eggs, too, of which the female Iguana lays from four to six dozen, 

 are very well flavored and in high repute. It is rather curious that 

 they contain very little albumen, the yellow filling almost the entire 

 shell. As is the case with the eggs of the turtle, they never harden 

 by boiling, and only assume a little thicker consistence. Some persons 

 of peculiar constitutions cannot eat either the flesh or the eggs of the 

 Iguana, and it is said that this diet is very injurious in some diseases. 

 The eggs are hid by the female Iguana in sandy soil, near rivers, lakes, 

 or the seacoast, and after covering them with sand she leaves them to 

 be hatched by the heat of the sun. 



The family which comes next in order is that in which are included 

 the Agamas, a group of Lizards which have been appropriately termed 

 the Iguanas of the Old World. In the members of this family the 

 teeth are set upon the edge of the jaws, and not upon their inner side, 

 as in the true Iguanas of the New AVorld. Between thirty and forty 

 genera are contained in this family, and some of the species are interest- 

 ing as well as peculiar beings. 



Perhaps the most curious of all this family, if not, indeed, the most 

 curious of all the reptiles, is the little Lizard which is well known under 

 the title of the Flying Dragon. 



This singular reptile is a native of Java, Borneo, the Philippines, and 

 neighboring islands, and is tolerably common. Its most conspicuous 

 characteristic is the singularly-developed membranous lobes on either 

 side, which are strengthened by certain slender processes from the first six 

 false ribs, and serve to support the animal during its bold leaps from 

 branch to branch. Many of the previously-mentioned Lizards are admi- 

 rable leapers, but they are all outdone by the Dragon, whi^h is able, by 

 means of the^ membranous parachute with which it is furnished, to 

 sweep through distances of thirty paces, the so-called flight being al- 

 most identical with that of the flying squirrels and flying fish. 



When the Dragon is at rest, or even when it is traversing the branches 

 of trees, the parachute lies in folds along the sides, but when it prepares 

 to leap from one bough to another it spreads its winged sides, launches 



