ORDER II. SAURIA.— CROCODILES AND ALLIGATORS. 2 
very ferocious. They have a loud and terrible roar, resembling distant 
thunder ; and when hundreds of them are roaring together, it seems as if 
the earth itself were agitated. They also make a remarkable noise by clap- 
ping their jaws together, which may be heard at a great distance. These 
animals may often be seen lying in great numbers upon the banks, where 
they seize hogs and other beasts which go to the river to drink. Sometimes 
they attack small boats, endangering the lives of those who are in them. 
“The females make their nests in a curious manner upon the banks of 
rivers or lagoons, generally in marshes, along which, at a short distance 
from the water, the nests are arranged somewhat like an encampment. 
They are obtuse cones, four feet high, and about four feet in diameter at 
the base, built of mud and grass. From one hundred to two hundred eges 
are found in each one. The females keep near the nests, and take the 
young under their care as soon as they are hatched, defending them with 
great perseverance and courage. The young are scen following the mother 
through the water like a brood of chickens following a hen. When basking 
in the sun on shore, the young are heard whining and yelping about the 
mother, not unlike young puppies. When first hatched they are very feeble 
and helpless, and large numbers of them are devoured by beasts of prey, 
turtles, and the American trionyx, as well as by the male alligators, until 
they grow old and strong enough to defend themselves. Many of the eggs, 
also, are destroyed by vultures and other animals, so that the race would 
become speedily extinct were it not for the great fecundity of the females.” 
THE Second FaMILy OF THE SAuRIANS embraces the Lizards, divided 
into two great genera, comprising numerous species. Besides the common 
and well-known individuals of the Lizard group, there are the Monitors, 
which are the largest of the whole tribe. They have teeth in both jaws, 
and are adapted to aquatic habits. Frequenting the vicinity of the haunts 
of crocodiles and alligators, it is said that they give warning, by a whistling 
sound, of the approach of those dangerous reptiles, and hence probably their 
names of Sawvegarde and Monitor. They constitute the genus Monitor, 
one species of which, DZ. crocodilinus (the Great Dragonet of Guiana), 
attains a length of six feet, and is eaten. Another, of equal size and 
length, is found in Brazil. It runs swiftly on the ground, and takes to the 
water when pursued, into which it plunges, but does not swim. Tt devours 
all sorts of insects, small reptiles, and the eggs of poultry, and nestles in 
holes which it burrows in the sand. Its flesh and eggs are eaten by the 
natives, and considered wholesome and savory. 
Tue Tuirp Fairy OF Savrians is composed of the Iguana group. 
In this series is the Dragon, a small animal, furnished with a sort of mem- 
brane or wing, which enables it to glide from bough to bough, and is the 
NO. XIV. 69 
