2 OUR EEPTILES. 



isms. Finally, their scientific portrait is com- 

 pleted by the announcement that the body is 

 either covered with shelly plates (as in the Tor- 

 toises, &c.), or with scales (as in the Snakes), or 

 with a soft naked skin (as in the Toads and 

 Progs) . 



This is the orthodox definition of what con- 

 stitutes a Reptile, but not the best definition, 

 nevertheless, as Mr. Edward Newman has shown 

 in some important remarks on the classification 

 of these animals. 



" The epidermis," he writes, " or outer skin 

 of quadrupeds, is clothed with hair, of birds 

 with feathers, of fishes with scales, but in 

 reptiles it is uncovered, perfectly naked. The 

 processes, whether described as squamce (in 

 Latin), or ecailles (in French), are projections, 

 folds, or rugosities of the under-skin ; and are 

 not deciduous like hairs, feathers, and scales, 

 but are as permanent and durable as the bones 

 themselves. This may be seen when the slough 

 of a snake is found. This slough is continuous, 

 and contains a faithful mould of each of these 

 processes : it is a very beautiful and very instruc- 

 tive object. The tortoise exhibits the pecu- 

 liarity of an articulated skin, the articulation 

 being clearly discernible in the living animal, but 

 becoming more conspicuous after death, when 

 dehiscence takes place and the plates fall off, per- 



