south of Europe; but this animal has never been found in any part of America. Chameleons live in trees, hanging to the branches by their long prehensile tails.

The

THIS animal is frequently thirty feet long. The female lays about twenty eggs twice or thrice a year in the sand, where they are hatched by the heat of the sun; and the mother is said to take no care of the young ones. head of this species, as of all the true Cocodiles, is twice as long as it is broad; the snout is pointed and unequal; and the eyes, which are small, are placed very far asunder. The colour is a greenish bronze, speckled with brown, and of a yellowish green underneath: six rows of nearly equal-sized plates run along the back. This Crocodile is less ferocious than some of the other kinds, and when taken young, may be tamed. It is common in Senegal and other parts of Africa, as well as in the Nile.

The double-crested Crocodile of the Ganges is very ferocious; and when gorged with prey, will bury what it can

not eat in the mud. This is also done occasionally by the other species.

The Crocodile of South America is more flexible in its body than the other kinds; the female lays her eggs in the sand, but when the young are hatched, and she hears them, she scrapes away the sand to aid their escape, and watches over and feeds them till they are able to take care of themselves.

The method which the African adopts to kill this formidable creature displays considerable ingenuity and courage. Having wrapped a thick cloth round his arm, and provided himself with a long knife, he proceeds to the known haunt, usually a reedy swamp or river. The moment the crocodile perceives him it rushes at him with open mouth, but is coolly received by its antagonist, who thrusts his covered arm between its jaws. The teeth cannot pierce through the thick folds of the cloth, so that his arm only gets a smart squeeze, and before the creature can disengage itself, he adroitly cuts its throat.

The Garvials have very long, sharply-pointed snouts, and are feet webbed to the toes. They are much smaller than the crocodile, and not destructive to human life, as they live principally on fish. They have only been found on the Ganges.

the crocodile. The principal mark of distinction is, that the former has its head and part of the neck more smooth than the latter, and the snout is considerably more wide and flat, as well as more rounded at the extremity. The largest of these animals do not exceed eighteen feet. Alligators are natives of the warmer parts of America, and are the dread of all living animals. Their voracity is so great, that they do not spare even mankind. A short time before M. Navarette was at the Manillas, he was told that, as a young woman was washing her feet at one of the rivers, an Alligator seized and carried her off. Her husband, to whom she had been but just married, hearing her screams, threw himself headlong into the water, and, with a dagger in his hand, pursued the robber. He overtook and fought the animal with such success, as to recover his wife; but, unfortunately for her brave rescuer, she died before she could be brought to the shore.

The voice of the Alligator is loud and harsh. They have an unpleasant and powerful musky scent. M. Pagés says, that near one of the rivers in America, where they were numerous, their effluvia was so strong as to impregnate his provisions, and even to give them the nauseous taste of rotten musk. This effluvium proceeds chiefly from four glands, two of which are situated in the groin, near each thigh, and the other two at the breast, under each fore leg. Dampier informs us that, when his men killed an Alligator, they generally took out these glands, and, after having dried them, wore them in their hats by way of perfume.

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The following anecdote of the voracity of this animal is related by Waterton in his "Wanderings in South America:"- "One Sunday evening, some years ago, as I was walking with Don Felipe de Ynciarte, governor of Angustura, on the bank of the Oroonoque, Stop here a minute or two, Don Carlos,' said he to me, while I recount a sad accident. One fine evening last year, as the people of Angustura were sauntering up and down here, in the Alameda, I was within twenty yards of this place, when I saw a large Cayman rush out of the river, seize a man, and carry him down, before anybody had it in his

power to assist him. The screams of the poor fellow

were terrible as the Cayman was running off with him. He plunged into the river with his prey; we instantly lost sight of him, and never saw or heard him more.""

SECTION IV.-Chelonian Reptiles.

THE COMMON, OR GREEK TORTOISE. (Testudo Græca.)

THIS animal has a small head, four feet, and a tail, which it can gather within the shell in such a way that the top and under part meet together, and so closely, that the greatest strength cannot separate them. The eye is destitute of an upper lid, the under one serving to defend that organ. The upper shell, composed of thirty-seven compartments, is convex, and so strong, that a loaded cart can pass over it without injuring the creature inside. In winter Tortoises are said to bury themselves in the ground, or retire to some cavern or hole, which they line with moss, grass, and leaves, and where they pass in safe and solitary retirement the whole of this season. The Tortoise is very tenacious of life, and is no less remarkable for its longevity, as it is ascertained that one lived upwards of one hundred and twenty years in the garden of Lambeth Palace.

This animal is found in most of the countries near the Mediterranean Sea, in Corsica, Sardinia, and some of the islands of the Archipelago, as well as in many parts of the north of Africa.

The Tortoise-shell which is produced by this animal, as well as by the hawk's-bill turtle, is employed in several articles of useful and ornamental utensils, and when of a good colour, sells at a considerable price.

THE GREEN TURTLE. (Chelonia midas.) ALL the Turtles are considered very delicate food, especially the green, the hawk's-bill, and the loggerhead. Some of them are so large as to weigh from four to eight hundred pounds. Dampier mentions an immensely large one that was caught at Port Royal, in the Bay of Campeachy. It was nearly six feet in width, and four in thickness. A son of Captain Roch, a boy about ten years old, went in the shell, from the shore to his father's ship, which was about a quarter of a mile distant.

Turtle generally ascend from the sea, and crawl on the beach, either for food, or for the purpose of laying their eggs, (which are as large sometimes as those of a common hen,) sometimes to the number of fifty or sixty at a time. The young ones, as soon as they are hatched, crawl down to the water. Turtles are caught, when sleeping on land, by turning them on their backs; for as they cannot turn themselves over again, all means of escape is denied them. The lean of the Green Turtle tastes and looks like veal,