support mutilations which would prove immediately fatal to most other animals. For instance, the Common Lizard frequently breaks its tail in its abrupt movements. Does this disturb him? Not at all! This curtailment of his being does not seem to affect him; he awaits patiently for the return of the organ, which complaisant nature renews as often as it becomes necessary. In the Crocodiles and Monitor Lizards, however, a mutilated part is not renewed, and the renovated tails of other Lizards do not develop bone. In some instances, the eyes may be put out with impunity, or part of the head may be cut off; these organs will be replaced or made whole in a certain time without the animal having ceased to perform any of the functions which are still permitted to him in his mutilated state. A Tortoise will continue to live and walk for six months after it is deprived of its brain, and a Salamander has been seen in a very satisfactory state although its head was, so to speak, isolated from the trunk by a ligature tied tightly close round the neck. There is another curious peculiarity in the history of Reptiles and Batrachians: each year as they awake from their state of torpor, they slough their old covering, and thus each year renew their youth; so far as the skin is concerned, it is certain that they retain their youth a very long time. Their growth is slow, and continues almost through the whole duration of their existence; they are, moreover, endowed with remarkable longevity. This is not very astonishing, if we consider that (at least in our latitudes) they remain torpid for several months yearly; thus using up less of the materials of life than most animals, they ought, consequently, to attain a more advanced age. The activity of organization in Reptiles and Batrachians is so slight that their stomachs feel less of the exigencies of hunger; hence they rarely take nourishment; they digest their food with equal deliberation. With the exception of the Land Tortoises, whose regimen is herbivorous, most reptiles feed on living prey. Some, such as Lizards, Frogs, and Toads, prey on worms, insects, small terrestrial or aquatic Molluscs; others, such as Ophidians and Crocodiles, attack Birds, and even Mammalia. Large Serpents, owing to the distensibility of their oesophagus, swallow animals much larger than themselves. The Boa-constrictor darts upon the Deer, binds him in its snaky coils, breaks his bones, and little by little swallows him entirely.