110 
by the natives with dogs trained for the purpose. The dog imme¬ 
diately upon scenting it gives tongue, and if on the ground, the dog 
seizes it by the back, and either kills it or maims it, which makes its 
capture easy ; if in a tree, the Iguana is either shaken down, a matter 
ordinarily of no small difficulty, or the branch is cut off. It is almost 
useless to attempt to find these reptiles without dogs, as the resem¬ 
blance of their colour to that of the trees they inhabit prevents them 
from being easily seen. Few dogs but those accustomed to the sport 
will touch them, as, in addition to the blows which they inflict with 
their tails, they bite and scratch furiously; and when once they lay 
hold of anything with their teeth, they can only be made to let go by 
an inducement to bite, some other attractive object being offered to 
them. They run into holes when chased, if an opportunity offers, 
and when their eyes are hidden from view, they fancy that their whole 
body is safely covered. The flesh, particularly of the female, is a 
great delicacy ; it is cooked in various ways, sometimes in a fricassee, 
with the eggs whole, sometimes roasted or stewed. The eggs have a 
very glutinous taste. The flesh is said to disagree with some con¬ 
stitutions, although it does not, I believe, as has been asserted, dis¬ 
agree peculiarly with those persons who have been affected with vene¬ 
real diseases. 
This Iguana is said by some of the natives to eat lizards and in¬ 
sects, but I have opened several, and I have never succeeded in find¬ 
ing any but vegetable matter in the stomach, sometimes, however, 
covered with innumerable small worms, the eggs of which must 
doubtless have been swallowed with the leaves, fruit, or bark of 
trees, upon which, I conceive, it feeds entirely. 
Unless caught young, it is very difficult to induce these reptiles to 
feed in confinement, and particularly when watched. Their dispo¬ 
sition is sulky and savage, and I have known some of them die in 
confinement from starvation rather than feed. This has caused me 
to try the following plan, which I find very successful, of affording 
them nourishment. I hold them by the lower part of the body with 
one hand, and with the other I irritate them, until they open their 
mouths and attempt to bite, when I insert food; and by annoying 
them in this way, I have not only made them eat their natural food, 
but I have killed some of them by forcing them to eat corn, and 
leaves which appear to have disagreed with them. 
This Iguana has a small rounded heart, reddish lungs, an oblong 
gall-bladder, a large dark-coloured flat liver, and a white, and very ex¬ 
tensible oblong stomach. 
