74 BLUEFIELDS. 



this specicc ; no caterpillar at all resembling that 

 of U, FernandincB ever occurred to me. Several of 

 the eggs above mentioned I examined with a micro- 

 scope ; their form is that of a globe slightly flattened 

 at the poles, marked with numerous ridges running 

 perpendicularly, like meridians : their colour is yel- 

 lowish-white. 



One feature with which a stranger cannot fail to be 

 struck on his arrival in the island, and which is 

 essentially tropical, is the abundance of the Lizards 

 that everywhere meet his eye. As soon as ever he 

 sets foot on the beach, the rustlings among the dry 

 leaves, and the dartings hither and thither among the 

 spiny bushes that fringe the shore, arrest his atten- 

 tion* ; and he sees on every hand the beautifully- 

 coloured and meek-faced Ground Lizard {Ameiva 

 dorsalis) scratching like a bird among the sand, or 

 peering at him from beneath the shadow of a great 

 leaf, or creeping stealthily along with its chin and 

 belly upon the earth, or shooting over the turf with 

 such a rapidity, that it seems to fly rather than run. 

 By the road-sides, and in the open pastures, and in 

 the provision-grounds of the negroes, still he sees 

 this elegant and agile Lizard ; and his prejudices 

 against the reptile races must be inveterate indeed, 

 if he can behold its gentle countenance, and timid 

 but bright eyes, its chaste but beautiful hues, its 



* " Nunc virides etiam occultant gpineta lacertos." — Virg. 



