276 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



THE COWSLIP 



Fig. 4. A beautiful specimen of the American Cowslip or Shooting-Star 

 (Dodccatkeon meadia). Flowering in April. This is much reduced in size. 



when held in the hand it has the feel and appearance of 

 a very pretty china lizard, so smooth and glossy is it. 

 The adult specimens are known as the "scorpions" in 

 the South, or "red-headed lizards," and are greatly feared 

 by the negroes. Generally they are of a deep shade of 

 brown, darkest on the line of the dorsum, where no 

 stripes are to be seen ; though a faint striping on the 

 sides may be noticed on the males ; and it is in this sex 

 that the brilliant, red coloration of the jaws and fore 

 part of the head and face is seen. The striping, so char- 

 acteristic of the young, is retained, to a certain degree, 

 throughout life by the females. Old males exhibit a 

 peculiar enlargement of the mandibular angles and 

 hinder part of the head, which is very extraordinary. 

 One very beautiful specimen of the young was cap- 

 tured and, as in the case of the adult, fine photographs 

 from life were obtained of it. It requires several hours 

 of patient labor to get these, the subject requiring the 



greatest care, if for no other reason than the alacrity with 

 which their entire tail will part company with the rest of 

 the body. Should this happen when the creature is first 

 captured in the woods, it may result in its escape ; for the 

 captor, thus having his attention suddenly drawn to the 

 wriggling tail on the ground and it is remarkable how 

 long and energetically it does wriggle is more than likely 

 to relax his hold upon the lizard, which later, giving a 

 sudden start, lands on the ground to make a dash for 

 the nearest tree or mass of bramble. As has long been 

 known, the tail grows out again, and is quite as perfect 

 as the original one. Generally, the restored one is of a 

 very pale color and devoid of all markings, though its 

 scalation is complete. 



Young individuals of this species are far handsomer 

 than the adult ones, and when about a couple of inches 



UMBEL OF FLOWERS OF THE SAME COWSLIP SHOWN IN FrG. 4 



Fig. 5. There are no fewer than sixteen of them on their slender, nodding 

 pedicles, the corolla of each being a pale purple. Natural size. 



long they are beautiful creatures, with their extremely 

 glossy, jet-black bodies, longitudinally marked with a 

 median, dorsal line of intense yellow, and with two 

 similar lines on either side of the same vivid color. These 

 five lines are responsible for one of their vernacular 

 names, as is their gorgeous, cobalt-blue tails for still 

 another. The blue of the latter blends with the black 

 of the body at the point of mergence. This coloration is 



