THE SAND LIZARD. 



43 



to a glass fern-case, and is sufficiently hardy to be kept alive with a very little care. 

 It seems to revel in the sunshine, and there are few objects more beautiful than the 

 emerald green hues of this Lizard as the sunbeams flash and glitter on its resplendent 

 surface. 



It is susceptible of kindness, and can soon be tamed by those who choose to take the 

 trouble of familiarizing themselves with their bright and lively favorite. Although 

 sufficiently bold and apt to bite if it fancies itself aggrieved, it can be so thoroughly 

 tamed that it will come and take flies out of the hand. In France and other countries 

 this pretty harmless little creature is greatly dreaded, the popular belief attributing to 

 it sundry destructive powers of the same nature as those which our rustic population 

 believe to be exercised by the common newt. 



The color of this beautiful creature is rich shining green above, a little blue some- 

 times appearing upon the head, and the quality of the green being rather variable in 

 different individuals. A multitude of little golden spots are also perceptible on the 

 back, and similar dots of black are not unfrequently sprinkled over the surface. Un- 

 derneath, the green fades into a yellower hue. 



UNTIL comparatively later years, the SAND LIZARD was confounded with the scaly 

 Lizard, which has recently been described. 



This reptile is extremely variable in size and coloring, so variable, indeed, that it has 

 often been separated into several species. Two varieties seem to be tolerably per- 

 manent, the brown and the green ; the former, as it is believed, being found upon sandy 

 heaths where the brown hues of the ground assimilate with those of the reptile, and 

 the green variety on grass and more verdant situations, where the colors of the vegeta- 

 tion agree with those of the body. 



Though quick and lively in its movements, it is not so dashingly active as the scaly 

 Lizard, having a touch of deliberation as it runs from one spot to another, while the scaly 

 Lizard seems almost to be acted 

 upon by hidden springs. It 

 does not bear confinement well, 

 and in spite of its diminutive 

 size and feeble powers, will at- 

 tempt to bite the hand which 

 disturbs it in a place whence it 

 cannot escape. When it finds 

 itself hopelessly imprisoned, it 

 loses all appetite for its food, 

 hides itself in the darkest cor- 

 ner of its strange domicile, and 

 before many days have passed, 

 is generally found lying dead 

 on the ground. 



Unlike the scaly Lizard, this 

 species lays its eggs in a con- 

 venient spot and then leaves 

 them to be hatched by the warm 

 sunbeams. Sandy banks with a 

 southern aspect are the favored 

 resorts of this reptile, which 

 scoops out certain shallow pits 

 in the sand, deposits her eggs, 



covers them up, and then leaves them to their fate. Mr. Bell, who has paid great 

 attention to this subject, has remarked that the eggs are probably laid for a considerable 

 period before the young are hatched from them. 



As has been already remarked, the coloring of this creature is exceedingly variable in 

 different individuals. Generally it is sandy brown above, with some faint bands of a 

 darker brown with rows of black spots,which sometimes have a whitish dot in their centre. 



SAND LIZARD.-Lacerfs 



