362 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW 



In nature the Moloch is slow of movement, physically feeble 

 and low of stature ; doubtless it would long ago have been extermi- 

 nated had it not been for its defensive armor of spines and prickles. 



Its upper teeth are directed in a horizontal plane inward; 

 but for what reason it is difficult to conjecture, as the Moloch 

 subsists entirely upon ants, of which it will eat from 1000 to 1500 

 at a single meal. Those who are familiar with these proclivities 

 often, where ants are very troublesome keep a number of these 

 lizards about to exterminate them, or at least to greatly reduce 

 their numbers. The ant upon which the Moloch usually feeds 

 is the tiny black one with the offensive odor, which is such a pest 

 in the country houses of the country where it is found. 



Australia also has a most interesting Water Lizard that gets 

 up on its hind legs and runs with marvelous rapidity. Another 

 of its wonders in this line is the Bearded Lizard, known among 

 the colonists as the "Australian Jew," possibly on account of its 

 having a beard. Still other extraordinary representatives of this 

 group in that most wonderful country are the Stump-tailed 

 Lizards, the Spine-tailed Lizards, and the great Cyclodus or 

 Blue-tongued Lizard, which has a large, flat tongue of a brilliantly 

 blue color. 



NEWS NOTES 



Professor and Mrs. Liberty Hyde Bailey and their daughter, Miss Ethel, 

 have again set sail for Southern Seas to gain a closer acquaintance with the 

 flora of the West Indian Islands. They expect to explore The Barbadoes and 

 hope to visit other islands and perhaps the South American mainland. They 

 do not expect to return before April or May. 



The Nature Lore School for Camp Councilors is to be held the last week of 

 June at Camp Chequasset at Wellfleet on Cape Cod. Those wishing to at- 

 tend should write to Professor W. G. Vinal, State College of Education, 

 Providence, R. I. 



