114 . CLOTHING OF REPTILES. 



capable of living a long time without drawing 

 breath. Toads have been discovered alive, though 

 enclosed in the trunks of trees, or in blocks of 

 stone, where they must have remained torpid pro- 

 bably for centuries. Creatures of this class can also 

 endure extreme degrees of cold without perishing. 

 Instances have been known in which frogs imbed- 

 ded in thick masses of ice, have been found 

 living when the ice has thawed gradually and 

 slowly. 



Most reptiles have voice ; the frog for example 

 croaks, and the serpent makes a hissing noise. 

 The organs of voice are, however, in general, much 

 less developed than in the former classes, with 

 which the reader has been made acquainted, and 

 some of them, as the green lizard, are quite mute. 



The shape of reptiles is very various. Croco- 

 diles, tortoises, frogs, lizards, and newts are four- 

 footed^ Serpents, on the contrary, are without 

 feet, or any external apparatus for motion. These 

 have, nevertheless, the power of moving with great 

 rapidity, by contracting alternate portions of their 

 long and slender bodies. They can also spring 

 considerable distances by the same means. 



God has clothed many of the reptiles in a won- 

 derful manner. Some are cased in bony coverings 

 so hard and so strong, that scarcely any weight is 

 sufficient to crush, or any blow to injure them, and 

 into these cases, on the approach of danger, the 

 animals can withdraw their body. Others are 

 defended by numerous horny rings, strong scales, 



