LACERTA. 



easily penetrable, "secure its destruction. 

 In some regions these animals are hunted 

 by dogs, which, however, are carefully 

 disciplined to the exercise, and are armed 

 with collars of iron spikes. Aristotle ap- 

 pears to have been the first who asserted 

 that the under jaw of the crocodile was 

 immovable, and from him the idea was 

 transmitted and believed for a long suc- 

 cession of ages. But the motion of the 

 jaw in this animal is similar to that of all 

 other quadrupeds. The ancients also 

 thought it destitute of a tongue, an idea 

 equally false. The tongue, however, is 

 moi'e fixed in this than in most animals to 

 the sides of the mouth, and less capable 

 therefore of being protruded. The eggs 

 of the crocodile are deposited on the 

 mud or sand of the banks of rivers, and, 

 immediately on being hatched, the young 

 move towards the water, in their passage 

 to which, however, vast numbers are in- 

 tercepted by ichneumons andbirds, which 

 watch their progress. See Amphibia, 

 Plate I fig. 4. 



L. alligator, the alligator, differs from 

 the former species principally in being 

 more smooth on the upper part of the 

 head, and on the snout being much wider 

 and flatter, and rounder at the end. It 

 grows to the length of eighteen feet, and 

 abounds particularly in the torrid zone, 

 but it is found so far north as the river 

 Neus in North Carolina. It is met with 

 both in the fresh and salt parts of rivers, 

 and amidst the reeds along the banks, 

 lurks in ambush for its prey, seizing upon 

 dogs and cattle which approach within 

 the reach of its fatal bound. Alligators 

 are equally formidable in their appear- 

 ance, and ferocious in their dispositions, 

 seizing both man and beast with almost 

 indiscriminating voracity, and pulling 

 them to the bottom to lessen their means 

 of resistance, and devour them with less 

 interruption. By the close union of the 

 vertebrae, this animal can proceed with 

 celerity only in a straight forward 

 direction, so that the intended victims 

 pursued by them, are enabled to elude 

 this destination by lateral and cross move- 

 ments. But though the alligator is defi- 

 cient in flexibility, it supplies this defect 

 in a great degree by sagacity or cunning, 

 and appearing on the surface of the water 

 like the stock of a tree, he thus attracts 

 various animals within its grasp. Fowls, 

 fishes, and turtle, all are drawn, whether 

 by curiosity or for convenience, towards 

 this object, supposed completely harm- 

 less, but from which the jaws of destruc- 

 tion are instantly opened to devour them. 

 Alligators are said to swallow stones and 



various other substances incapable of af- 

 fording nourishment, merely to prevent 

 the contraction of their intestines, and 

 thus allay their hunger; and Catesby ob- 

 serves, that, on opening a great number, 

 he has seen nothing but clumps of light 

 wood and pieces cf pine tree coal (in 

 one instance a piece of the weight of 

 eight pounds) worn by attrition to a sur- 

 face perfectly smooth, implying that the}' 

 had long remained in their bodies. Their 

 eggs are deposited on the banks of rivers, 

 and sometimes in a nest composed of 

 vegetables with considerable care, and are 

 hatched by the sun, and the young ones 

 are not only devoured by fishes and birds, 

 but become the victims often of their own 

 voracious species. In Carolina they sel- 

 dom attack men or large cattle, but are 

 formidable enemies to hogs. From Oc- 

 tober to March they continue in the se- 

 questered caverns of the river banks in a 

 state of torpor, re-appearing in the spring 

 with the most violent and terrific noises. 

 Some parts of them are used by the In- 

 dians for food, and the flesh is of an at- 

 tractive whiteness, but has a very strong 

 flavour of musk. The growth of this ani- 

 mal, and of the crocodile, is extremely 

 slow, and both are imagined to be long 

 lived. The alligator of North America is 

 without doubt specifically distinct from 

 that of South America, and the West 

 India Islands. See Amphibia, Plate I. 

 fiffS. 



L. iguana, or the great American guana, 

 is found in various parts of America and 

 the West Indies. Its colour is generally 

 green. Its back exhibits the appearance 

 of a saw, and it is distinguished by a pouch 

 under the throat, which it is able to ex- 

 tend or contract at pleasure, and which 

 gives it occasionally an appearance truly 

 formidable. It is formidable, however, 

 only in appearance, being in fact per- 

 fectly inoffensive. Its general length is 

 from three to five feet ; it inhabits rocks 

 and woods, and subsists on vegetable food 

 and .certain species of insects. The 

 guanas deposit their eggs (which have 

 no testaceous covering, and are much 

 valued for food) in the earth, where they 

 may be warmed by the beams of the sun, 

 and leave them to be matured solely by 

 its influence. The natives of the Bahamas 

 train dogs to the pursuit of these animals, 

 and a well disciplined dog will take them 

 alive, in which case they are carried for 

 sale to the markets of Carolina in the 

 holds of vessels ; those which are des- 

 troyed or lacerated by the dogs, arc 

 salted and barrelled, and kept for the 

 home consumption. Their flesh is re 



