THE CHAMELEON. 



93 



Owing to the exceeding slowness of its movements, it has no way of escaping when 

 once discovered, and as a French writer well says, " im Came'le'on aperU est un Came'- 

 leon perdu." Great numbers of these creatures fall victims to enemies of every kind, 

 and were it not that their color assimilates so well with the foliage on which they dwell, 

 and their movements are so slow as to give no aid to the searching eye of their foes, 

 the race would soon be extinct. The Chameleon has an odd habit of puffing out its 

 body for some unexplained reason, and inflating itself until it swells to nearly twice its 

 usual size. In this curious state it will remain for several hours, sometimes allowing 

 itself to collapse a little, and then reinflating its skin until it becomes as tense as a 

 drum and looks as hollow as a balloon. 



The Chameleon is readily tamed, if such a word can be applied to the imperturbable 

 nonchalance with which it behaves under every change of circumstance. It can be 



CHAMELEON. Chameleo vulgaris. 



LARGE-NAPED CHAMELEON. Chameleo blfurcus. 



handled without danger, and although its teeth are strong, will not attempt to bite the 

 hand that holds it. It is, however, rather quarrelsome with its own kind, and the only 

 excitement under which it has been seen to labor is when it takes to fighting with a 

 neighbor. Not that even then it hurries itself particularly or does much harm to its 

 opponent, the combatants contenting themselves with knocking their tails together in 

 a grave and systematic manner. 



A few words on the change of color will not be out of place. The usual color of the 

 Chameleon when in its wild state is green, from which it passes through the shades of 

 violet, blue and yellow, of which the green consists. In this country, however, it 

 rarely retains the bright green hue, the color fading into yellowish gray, or the kind of tint 

 which is known as feuille-mortc. One of the best and most philosophical disquisi- 



