THE LIZARDS. 91 



rubbing their jaws and head, and crawling in and out among the 

 moss, indicating that sloughing was about to occur, the operation, 

 was less regular in these than in A.fragilis, or the newts. On this 

 occasion the cuticle of " Greenie's " eyelids first peeled, sticking 

 out like ears all day, which did not seem to concern him at all. 

 Next his collar grew ragged, and his jaws, in which untidy state 

 he ate a large fly and a caterpillar. Next day he went about in 

 ragged gloves, and lastly, when his coat was nearly off, he enjoyed 

 his usual amusement of trying to scratch a hole through the glass, 

 apparently indifferent to the fact that for some hours he was 

 dragging about his bound-down legs and tail round which clung 

 the remains of his old coat. Sloughing did not appear to 

 interfere with his diet or occupations in any way. These little 

 lizards often use only the fore legs, the others dragging inactively. 

 The largest agilis, a very handsome female, also changed three 

 times during the summer, viz., on July 16th, August 4th, and 

 partially towards the end of October, at which time she was too 

 feeble to move about, and the process was of several weeks' dura- 

 tion, a few scales at a time. In August she had got away, and 

 was lost for three days, when she was found on the balcony of a 

 house several doors off. She had fallen out of the window, and 

 was brought home in an exhausted condition, the nights having 

 been cold. She ceased to feed from that time, and gradually 

 declined, dying in November. The third Agilis, the one who 

 had lost her tail (p. 83), changed only twice during the summer.^ 

 July 20th, while she was on a few weeks' visit to the Zoological 

 Gardens, and again in about six weeks irregularly. The July 

 sloughing I did not witness, but in September, though faint indica- 

 tions of scales appeared on the inch of new tail, no cuticle of that 

 part was cast, the slough ending abruptly and looking as if it had 

 been cut off at the stump. 



L. agilis, commonly known as the sand lizard, is about seven 

 inches long when grown. Its markings — the three rows of spots 

 with white centres — down its back render it easily distinguishable 

 even when young, from the smaller lizard whose colours are less 

 bright. It is found on sandy heaths, and is very frequently met 

 with in Hampshire and Dorsetshire. 



The female scratches a hole in the sand as a nest for her eggs, 

 and lays a dozen or more, which have a thin, coriaceous envelope. 

 She is not generally accredited with much maternal affection, but 

 those who have watched her attentively consider injustice is done 

 her in this respect. I have reason to think that all three of the 

 English lizards possess rather strong maternal instincts. Re- 

 garding Lacerta viridis, also, Mr. Jenner Weir told me of one in 



