THE LIZAED. 207 



generally moist situations, — such as tea-trees and damp 

 grass ; sometimes, however, in dry heather. The sleeping 

 lizard well deserves its name. It is the very counterpart 

 of its relative, the guano, being sluggish and lazy, always 

 lying apparently half asleep, did not the bright little eye 

 prove that they are " wide awake." They never try to 

 escape by flight when a dog attacks them ; all they do is 

 to turn their head towards it with open mouth, and I 

 fancy their repulsive look often protects them. Dogs 

 will set them like quail. Their principal food appears to 

 be grubs and caterpillars ; and as these insects require 

 very little catching, I should say the life of the stump- 

 lizard is about as lazy a one as any in the colony. They 

 can bite severely for their size. 



There are several other species of small lizard in the 

 bush, all harmless ; but one they call the bloodsucker — a 

 perfect guano in miniature — they say, is poisonous. I 

 fancy not. But a stranger in a foreign land should 

 always be careful in handling reptiles, unless he well 

 knows their habits. 



It was curious that we had no alligators in this part 

 of the country. Many of the creeks would be the very 

 places for them, and I am sure some of the swamps are 

 wild and dismal enough to hold any kind of uncouth 

 reptile. I believe the Blacks fancy that some species of 

 large reptiles or amphibious animal do inhabit the large 

 swamps, and I have often had the same opinion myself, 

 when camped on the edge of one of these dreary, im- 

 penetrable marshes. I have listened to the extraordinary 



