Page:Natural History, Reptiles.djvu/145

Rh In the stomachs of such individuals as we have dissected, we found only vegetable food; fragments of large fruits, bitten off but not masticated; and the soft white bases of the spongy leaves of bulrush were conspicuous. The flesh has been cooked and eaten by those who could overcome the general aversion with which the animal is viewed, and it was found to be excellent.

The female brings forth her young alive; these are numerous, for we have taken seventeen young, perfectly formed and nearly ready for the birth, from the body of one mother. These were about five inches in total length, of which much more than half belonged to the tail, a proportion very different from that of the adult.

The great disparity of form which we have already alluded to between the genera of the Family before us, induces us to select two examples for its illustration. In the genus Celestus, the limbs, though small, are perfectly formed, and furnished with the full number of perfect toes; the body is thick and stout, and the whole appearance Lizard-like. In the genus Anguis, there is not the slightest appearance of any external limbs, the body is very long, slender, and cylindrical, and the whole appearance is Snake-like. Indeed so completely is this the case, that not only by unscientific observers, but by such men as Linnæus, Cuvier, and other illustrious zoologists, the Slow-worms have been arranged with the Serpents. Yet the agreement is merely superficial; they certainly form, as