HABITS OP REPTILES. 



117 



LESSON XXI. 



HABITS OF REPTILES TORTOISES FOOD AND 



VITALITY OF REPTILES. 



THE young of reptiles are produced from eggs, 

 they are therefore oviparous, like hirds ; but they 

 differ widely from these in one respect, namely, 

 that the eggs are not hatched by the mother, but 

 by the warmth of the sun, after she has deposited 

 them in proper places for this purpose. These 

 places, however, she selects with the utmost care, 

 and the most admirable foresight, so that the eggs 

 may be safe, and that the young ones, when they 

 come out, may find a supply of food. 



The greater part of them pass the winter months 

 in a state of torpidity. Some of them, as frogs 

 and lizards, are found occasionally in this state, 



