REPTILIAN LIFE 171 



ated into the wonders of natural history. Day by 

 day, in the pursuit of their sustenance, these crea- 

 tures, some of them exquisitely beautiful in their 

 coloring, are waging constant warfare against the 

 great army of insects which must be kept in check, 

 or hf e upon this earth, of both plant and animal kind, 

 would be menaced by a terrible scourge. 



That every existing creature, every organism, no 

 matter how minute or lowly, has some duty to per- 

 form upon this earth is indisputable. Nature toler- 

 ates no useless creatures ; a race of such must rapidly 

 degenerate and perish. Thus does reptilian life per- 

 form its duties ; and cannibalism among its own mem- 

 bers, as well as its natural enemies of the wilds, keep 

 it within the bounds of Nature's plans. 



