7^ THE WARTY LIZARD. 



begins with the head part first ; and the tail being 

 filled with air and water becomes like a blown blad- 

 der, and proves so unmanageable that it is very di- 

 verting to see the pains it costs to discharge these, 

 and to reduce it to a condition to be got down the 

 throat *. 



Dr. Townson, who had several of these Lizards 

 in a jar for the purpose of trying experiments on 

 their respiration, says that he fed them with worms, 

 and that if they were in the greatest s.tillness, and a 

 worm was dropped ever so gently among them, they 

 all immediately began to fight, each attacking his 

 neighbour, and seizing it by the head, foot, or tail. This 

 he remarked to be not a contention immediately for 

 the worm, for that often lay for a short time unno- 

 ticed, but it seemed to originate in a great acuteness 

 of smell (which in a moment informed them of the 

 presence of their food), and in a singular dullness of 

 their discriminating powers f. 



Being never seen in winter, these Lizards are sup- 

 posed to retire into holes or mud, and become tor- 

 pid. They deposit their spawn towards the end of 

 May or beginning of June, in small clusters, consist- 

 ing of several palish yellow-brown globules included 

 in surrounding gluten. The larva? are furnished with 

 fins on each side of the breast, which fall off when 

 the animals attain a perfect state. 



* Paper of Mr. Baker in Phil. Tran. vol. xliv. p. 529. 

 t Townsorfs Tracts, p. u3. 



