76 THE COMMON IGUANA. 



In common with those members of the family which have their body rather com- 

 pressed, and covered with squared scales, the Iguana is a percher on trees, living 

 almost wholly among the branches, to which it clings with its powerful feet, and on 

 which it finds the greater part of its food. It is almost always to be found on the trees 

 that are in the vicinity of water, and especially favors those that grow upon the banks 

 of a river, where the branches overhang the stream. 



Though not one of the aquatic Lizards, the Iguana is quite at home in the water, and 

 if alarmed, will often plunge into the stream, and either dive or swim rapidly away. 

 While swimming, it lays its fore legs against the sides, so as to afford the smallest 

 possible resistance to the water, stretches out the hinder legs, and by a rapid serpen- 

 tine movement of its long and flexible tail, passes swiftly through the waves. It has 

 considerable power of enduring immersion, as indeed is the case with nearly all 

 reptiles, and has been known to remain under water for an entire hour, and at the end 

 of that time to emerge in perfect vigor. 



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 fricassee, however, is the mode which has met 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 fou.r 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 to some diseases. The eggs are hid by the 

 female Iguana in sandy soil near rivers, lakes, or the sea-coast, and after covering 

 them with sand, she leaves them to be hatched by the heat of the sun. 



In consequence of the excellence of the flesh and eggs, the Iguana is greatly 

 persecuted by mankind, and its numbers considerably thinned. Those who hunt the 

 animal for sport or merely to supply their own homes, generally employ a noose for the 

 purpose, which they cast dexterously round the neck of the reptile as it sits on a branch, 

 and then by a sudden and sharp jerk loosen its hold, and secure it. The creature is 

 very bold, having but little idea of running away, and in general is so confident of its 

 capability of frightening away its antagonist by puffing up its long dewlap, and looking 

 ferocious, that it is captured before it discovers its mistake. Even when caught, it 

 has no notion of yielding without a struggle, but bites so fiercely with its sharp leaf-like 

 teeth, and lashes so vigorously with its long whip-like tail, that it is not secured without 

 some trouble and risk. It is also very tenacious of life, and does not readily die even 

 from repeated blows with heavy sticks, so that the spear or the pistol are often 

 employed to kill it. 



Those, however, who hunt the Iguana for sale, are obliged to have recourse to other 

 expedients, such as nets, and dogs, the latter being trained to secure the Iguana with- 

 out killing it. Many persons set out on regular expeditions of this sort, embarking in 

 a little vessel and visiting numbers of different islands and inlets in chase of the Iguana. 

 Those which they can succeed in taking alive, have their mouths carefully secured to 

 prevent them from biting, and are then stowed away in the hold, where they will live 

 for a considerable time without requiring any nourishment. Those which are killed, 

 they either eat on the spot, or salt them down in barrels for winter consumption. 

 Were the Iguanas quick of foot, they would seldom be captured, but, fortunately for 

 the hunters, they cannot run fast, and according to the quaint language of Catesby, 

 who visited the Bahamas about 1740, "their holes are a greater security to them than 

 their he^ls." 



The food of the Iguana seems to consist almost entirely of fruits, fungi, and other 





