TRAVELS 
I76 
all over the country. Their fpawn being hatched 
in the warm water, the larva is there nourifhed, 
palling through the like metamorphofes as the 
water frogs and as foon as they obtain four feet, 
whilft yet no larger than crickets, they leave the 
fluid nurfery-bed, and hop over the dry land after 
their parents. 
The food of thefe amphibious creatures, when 
out of the water, is every kind of infefr, reptile, 
&:c. they can take, even ants and fpiders; nature 
having furnifhed them with an extreme long tongue, 
which exudes a vifcid or glutinous liquid, they be- 
ing fecreted under covert, fpring fuddenly upon 
their prey, or dart forth their tongue as quick as 
lightning, and inftantly drag into their devouring 
jaws the unwary infedL But whether they prey up- 
on one another, as the water frogs do, I know not. 
There are feveral fpecies of the lizard kind be- 
fldes the alligator, which is by naturalids allowed 
to be a fpecies of that genus. 
The green lizard or little green chameleon is a 
pretty innocent creature : the larged I have feen 
were not more than feven inches in length : they 
appear commonly of a line green colour, having a 
large red gill under their throat: they have the fa- 
culty of changing colour, which, notwithftanding 
the fpecious reafoning of phyfiologifts, is a very 
iurprifing phenomenon. The ftriped lizard, called 
fcorpion, and the blue bellied fquamous lizards I 
have already mentioned. There is a large copper 
coloured lizard, and a very (lender one of a fine 
blue colour, and very fwift ; the tail of this lad, 
which is very long and (lender, is as iubjedl to be 
broken off as that of the glafs fnake. Thefe two 
lad 
