REPTILES AND SNAKE-STONES. 3 



fectly detached from each, other."* Let any one 

 examine the cast-off skin, as it is called, of a 

 viper or snake, and he will find it to be a thin 

 delicate cuticle which had covered all the pro- 

 jections and inequalities of the true skin, con- 

 taining a little pouch for each of the ' scales ' 

 (falsely so called) into each of which a projection 

 had extended. True scales are easily rubbed off 

 from the skin in fish, but there is no rubbing 

 them from that of a snake ; they are permanent 

 projections with a scale-like form. If there is 

 any value in words, then ' scale ' cannot be 

 applied at the same time to the deciduous, flat, 

 horny plates of fish, and the flat, depressed, but 

 persistent irregularities of the skin in reptiles. 

 However, with this reservation, we shall pro- 

 ceed to call them ' scales ' in deference to 

 custom, and the collective wisdom of those more 

 learned in reptiles than ourselves. 



Having endeavoured to satisfy our scientific 

 friends, by taking off our cap to ( authority/ 

 and furnishing a ( red-tape ' description of the 

 class REPTILIA, we may be allowed to digress 

 a little by way of commentary upon the text. 

 We will not suppose it necessary to state that 

 ' Reptile' is derived from the Latin word rej)to., 

 ' I crawl/ nor justify its application to such as 



* The Zoologist, p. 8450, 

 B 2 



