W&TER. LIZARD-, 
put into water, they continue there in seeming 
health ; and, on the contrary, those taken 
from the w r ater, will live on land,, In water, 
however, they exhibit a greater variety in their 
appearance : and, what is equally wonderful 
with the rest of their history, during the whole 
spring and summer, this Water Lizard changes 
it's skin every fourth or fifth day ; and, during 
the winter, every fifteen days ! This opera- 
tion they perform, by means of the mouth and 
the claws ; and it seems a work of no small 
difficulty and paim The cast skins are fre- 
quently seen floating on the surface of the 
water : they are sometimes seen, also, with a 
part of their old skin still sticking to one of 
their limbs, which they have not been able to 
get rid of ; and thus, like a man with a boot 
half-drawn, in some measure crippled in their 
own spoils. This, also, often corrupts, and 
the leg drops off : but the animal does not seem 
to feel the want of it ; for the loss of a limb, 
to all the Lizard kind, is but a trifling calamity. 
They can live several hours, even after the 
joss of their head ; and for some time, under 
dissection, all the parts of this animal seem to 
retain life : but the tail is the part that longest 
rain 
