tion. With jaws not more than an inch apart when wide open, it will swallow an ordinary hen's egg without breaking it. If such be the capacity of a snake not more than twelve inches long, what must be the great gulp of one thirty feet long and of proportionate thickness ?

It may seem an incredible statement to many persons that any reptile possesses beauty, yet among these crawling creatures, disgusting in many instances, there are forms and colors unrivalled, or at least unexcelled, in any other part of creation. There is, for instance, what is called the redthroated lizard.

This beautiful reptile is a native of the West India Islands. Its color is green, more or less tinged with blue. There is no dorsal crest; the tail is large, strong, and slightly depressed at its base-its remainder being slender, and slightly compressed; a minute dentated ridge runs along its upper surface. The scales on the back and sides are very small, somewhat oval and granular, and of equal size. Those on the under parts are smooth, and overlay each other. When irritated, the throat swells, and becomes as red as a cherry.

"Some years since," says Mr. Bell, " I had two living specimens of the beautiful little green creature of the West Indies. I was in the habit of feeding them with flies, and other insects; and having one day placed in the cage with them a very large garden spider one of the lizards darted at it, but only seized it by the leg. The spider instantly ran round the creature's mouth, weaving a very thick web round both the jaws, and then gave it a severe bite on the lip, just as this spider usually does with any large insect which it has taken. The lizard was greatly distressed, and I removed the spider, and rubbed off the web, the confinement of which appeared to give it great annoyance; but in a few days it died, though previously in as perfect health as its companion, which lived for a long time afterwards."

In contrast with this is an ugly creature which deserves notice.

The Cristatus.

In that group of islands called the Galapagos, near the Equator, in the Pacific Ocean, this lizard abounds, and the species is found there in great numbers. It selects a rocky shore for its place of resort, and appears never to be found far inland. Specimens four feet in length have been discovered; the usual length, however, is about three feet. In rare instances its weight reaches twenty pounds. The appearance of the cristatus is very repulsive. It would be impossible to convince some persons that there is any beauty in the tribe of lizards. They are slimy creatures, unpleasant to the touch; they lack the soft plumage of the dove or fur of

the seal; they do not fly gracefully through the air, as birds do; for the most part, they do not even swim, as many fishes do, with a movement very attractive; they crawl over rocks, tree branches, through tangled grasses, along the edges of slimy pools, and repel one by their stealthy, creeping motions. They have never been regarded as among the beauties of creation.

Yet there are tribes of lizards whose cold skins wear tints as rich as those of the beetle or the butterfly. This, however, is not true of the cristatus, which is a rare specimen of ugliness. Probably in the eyes of

its own species it has many points of beauty, and it ought, therefore, to be considered that the work of nature is a success. This lizard is found frequently among the lava beds of volcanic islands; its strong claws peculiarly adapt it for such a place of residence.

The moloch is an Australian iguanian reptile, and is the most ferociouslooking of the lizard tribe, though harmless; it is as ugly as any of the representations of the fabled basilisks and dragons. They live in sandy districts and sometimes dig themselves into the sand, sleeping at night and leaving their resting-place during the day in search of prey. They

principally feed on ants, but are said to be also herbivorous. Like other lizards, they deposit their eggs in the sand.

A Hideous Toad.

It is proper to caution the reader against believing all that has been written about the longevity of toads. Neither must implicit faith be given to the discovery of the living animal in the centre of stones. "That toads, frogs, and newts, occasionally issue from stones broken in a quarry

PIPA TOAD HATCHING EGGS ON ITS BACK.

or are discovered in sinking wells, and even taken from coal-strata at the bottom of a mine," is true enough; but, as Buckland observes, "the evidence is never perfect to show that these amphibians were entirely enclosed in a solid rock; no examination is made until the creature is discovered by the breaking of the mass in which it was contained, and then it is too late to ascertain whether there was any hole or crevice by which it might have entered."

These considerations led Buckland to undertake certain experiments to test the fact. He caused blocks of coarse oolitic limestone and sandstone to be prepared with cells of various sizes, in which he enclosed toads of different ages. The small toads enclosed in the sandstone were found to die at the end of thirteen months; the same fate befell the larger ones during the second year; they were watched through the glass covers of their cells, and were never seen in a state of torpor, but at each successive examination they had become more meagre, until at last they were found dead. This was probably too severe a test for the poor creatures, the glass cover implying a degree of hardness and dryness not natural to half amphibious toads.

This animal, the common toad, is badly provided with means of progression, is timid and solitary in habits, and shuns the sight of man, as if it comprehended the repugnance with which it is regarded. It is, nevertheless, susceptible of education, and has been tamed. Pennant, the zoologist, relates some curious details respecting a poor toad which took refuge under the staircase of a house. It was accustomed to come every evening into a dining-room near the place of its retreat. When it saw the light it allowed itself to be placed on a table, where the host furnished it with worms, wood-lice, and various insects. As no attempt was made to injure it, there were no signs of irritation when it was touched, and it soon became, from its gentleness, the object of general curiosity; even ladies came to see this strange animal. The poor batrachian lived thus for thirty-six years; and it would probably have lived much longer had not a tame crow, living in the house, attacked it, and put out one of its eyes. From that time it languished and died.

Nearly allied to the common toads the surinam toad holds its place. Its physiognomy is at once disagreeable and peculiarly odd; the head is flat and triangular, a very short neck separates it from the trunk, which is itself depressed and flattened; its eyes are extremely small, of an olive, more or less bright color, dashed with small reddish spots; it has no tongue. There is only one species of pipa, viz.: the American pipa, which inhabits Guiana and several provinces of Brazil. The most remarkable feature in this batrachian is its manner of reproduction. It is oviparous; and when the female has laid her eggs, the male takes them, and piles them on her back. The female, bearing the fertilized ova, reaches the marshes, and there immerses herself; but the skin which supports her future progeny soon becomes inflamed, causing an irritation of the integument, which continues till all are absorbed into the skin. The young are rapidly developed in these dorsal cells, and soon born..

CHAPTER XIX.

MARVELS OF INSECT LIFE.

Intelligence Among Insects-All Sorts of Insect Mechanics-Pillaging Pirates-The Goliath Beetle-Monstrosities and Freaks-"Little Devils "-Gorgeou: Coloring of Shells and Wings-Jewelry made of Insects-Wingless ButterfliesExtraordinary Changes Through Which Insects Pass-Metamorphosis of the Dragon-Fly-Perfection of Organization-Wonderful Handiwork of NatureGnats More than a Match for Men-The African Fly-A Dreaded Pest-Magnified Proboscis of a Common Fly-Amazing Rapidity of Movement-Insect Gymnasts and their Strength-Ingenious Mechanisms-Transformation of the Common Gnat-Insect Saws, Rakes, and Chisels Surpassing Man's Finest Instruments-Curious Method of Talking-Eyes Like Telescopes - Military Drill-The Remarkable Achievements of the Spider-An Insect Better than it Appears-Slave-Holding Ants-A Colony Saved by an Old Slave-Insects that Keep a Dairy-Ants and their Milch Cows-Warrior Termites-Builders and Destroyers of Towns.

T

JO a marvelous delicacy of organization insects join a still more marvelous intelligence. The perfection of their tools would lead us to suppose them capable of executing works of boundless variety; it is these that Rennie has designated as the architecture of insects. In fact, these minute creatures often rear constructions of an elegance and size which we should be far from expecting from them. Among insects there are evidently architects, masons, upholsterers, paper-makers, joiners, pasteboard-makers, and hydraulic-engineers. Others dislike work, and are veritable pirates, always engaged in war and pillage.

We find also in this class extremes of size and strength. One gigantic beetle, such as for instance the Goliath, may exceed the size of the straight-beaked humming-birds, which he would pitilessly strangle in his claws if he caught them in his path; while another insect may be so small, so calculated to escape notice, that we only discover it by the aid of a magnifying-glass.

The insect class shows in every part a harmonious organization, which at the first glance distinguishes it from all others. Nevertheless, it is perhaps the section of the animal kingdom in which we observe the greatest diversity of form; some insects indeed display at times such anomalies. that we can only make them out by their fundamental characteristics. There are even frequently extreme differences between the male and the female. Others possess such a singular exterior that they exactly resem