302 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [June, 1910. 



In Dr. Watt's " Dictionary of Economic Products " " Reg 

 raahi " is referred to the Brahminy lizard or common skink 

 (Mabuia carinata, Boulenger). This is one of the most common 

 and widely distributed lizards of the East Indies. It is found 

 in almost every part of the Continent, as well as of the Archi- 

 pelago, from Afghanistan to China and to the Philippine 

 Islands. Its saliva is said to be poisonous. An oilis made from 

 this and other allied species, and is supposed to have restora- 

 tive, stimulant and antisyphiletic properties. In "The Topo- 

 graphy of Ajmere," Irvine enumerates " Sanda" as the name 

 of a lizard which is distilled and the oil used by Mahomedans. 

 Uromastix Hardwickii is the name of another lizard which is 

 dried and sold in Calcutta. 



To prepare the lizards for market they are eviscerated and 

 dried in the sun. They retain the natural smooth and glossy 

 appearance of the skin for a long time and have no objection- 

 able odour if kept from damp. It has been said that the flesh 

 of lizards is as good eating as that of fish, raw or dried. 



Dr. Whitelaw Ainslie gives various references to the medi- 

 cinal use of lizards in " Materia Indica " (1826). He remarks 

 that the Lacerta scincus, Linn., the officinal skink of Shaw, was 

 eaten by the Egyptians as a restorative and aphrodisiac. The 

 flesh used formerly to be an ingredient in an old compound 

 preparation which went under the name of theriaca andromachi. 



Of the gecho it is said that the bruised body of the ani- 

 mal made into electuary in conjunction with certain aromatics 

 was given by Hindu doctors in leprous affections. The same 

 properties have been attributed to the flesh of the grey lizard 

 (Lacerta agilis). In Europe the internal use of the common 

 green lizard has been extolled in cases of leprosy, scrofula and 

 cancer (F lores Specifique nouvellement decouvert, Lausanne, 

 1785). Virey, in his HistoireNaturelle des Medicamens, informs 

 us that in Spain and Naples the Lacerta agilis when deprived 

 of the skin, head, tail and entrails is administered in venereal 

 cases, and quotes Elorez as his authority (1782), who says 

 of its specific virtues " espicifico descubierto en el regno de 

 quatiluana," adding that it produces salivation and sweating, 

 Lizards were recognised in the Materia Medica of Europe in the 

 16th and 17th centuries. In a curious work brought out by 

 J. J. Bechers in 1663 entitled Parnassus medicinalis illustratus 

 the following lines referring to lizards occur : 



" Die Aidex (Lacerta) febendig in ol man kochen tut, 

 Es macht ein weisz Gesicht ist vor die Rote gut." 

 Although at present saurians are not officially recognised 

 the Pharmacopoeias, well-known physicians for a long time 

 justified their use, as will be found in such works as Moquin 

 Tandon's Medical Zoology. 



Dried lizards under the name of ;< Ko-tehe" form an 

 important article of trade in China. They are collected and 



in 



