In rivers a single crocodile will often appropriate to himself a limited district, which, if it happen to be in the vicinity of a village, will soon bo perceived in the loss of tho grazing cattle. /ustances are on record of Malays who, to avenge the loss of a relat ive, have watched the crocodile, and, by di ving from below, plunged a kris into its heart. Tho eggs are white, the shell hard, of a cylindrical form, upwards of 3 inches in length, and about If inch iu diameter.
Crocodiles are numerous in all the tide-water streams of Burma. During a two hours' pull up a small river, Mr. Mtwon once counted 14 sunning themselves on the mud banks. They often carry off the natives ; and a single animal, emboldened by his successes, will usurp dominion over a particular portion of a river, where he becomes the terror of every boat's crew that passes. The steersman occupies the most dangerous position, for the crocodile's mode of attack is to glide up silently to the bow or stern of a boat, then turn suddenly, when with one stroke of his powerful tail, close to the top of the boat, he sweeps into the water whoever is within its reach, and the stunned victim becomes an easy prey. A Karen chief, with whom Mr. Mason was acquainted, perished in this way at a point in the river Gaing which had previously been known as the demesne of one of these river monarchs. Persons sleeping on their boats moored to the shore, have some times awoke in the jaws of these monsters, and one carried off a Burman from the back of a buffalo that he was riding across a small stream, under the very shadow of the walls of Tavoy.
Crocodilus porosus, Schn. This, the larger and fiercer of the two crocodiles is found in various localities both on the east mid west coasts of the Peninsula of India.
Gavialis Gangeticus, tlie gavial or nakoo. The length of the snout equals that of 9 or 10 of the dorsal shields. Old male specimens have a large cartilaginous hump on the extremity of the snout. "Dian noticed that the Ganges is inhabited by crocodiles which have a horn on the end of the snout, perforated by the nostrils, and containing a small cavity for the reception of air, so that the males are enabled to remain under water for a longer time than the females. The gavial attains to a length of 20 feet. The correct term is garial.
The fanaily of the Water Lizards are the Vara niche. The family contains the largest species of lizards ; the greater part of them live in the neigh bourhood of large rivers, and are excellent swim mers, their long, compressed tail serving as a propeller ; they are carnivorous, feeding on all different water animals and on the eggs of birds, and likewise on those of other large reptiles.
Their movements on land are not much less rapid than in the water. Several species climb tsees ; they are active during a part of the night. They are fotuid in tropical Africa, Asia, and Aus tralis,.
Varanus Bengalensis. The Karen are extravag antly fond of their flesh ; they steal up the trees with a noose at the end of a bamboo, and often noose theixt while leaping for the water, or catch I them in the boat, which im brought under the tree. The head of dila species, the native,' say, is venomous, and they discard it altogether ; but the flesh of the other parts, which tmella most odiously, is deemed by the Karelia much prefer able to fowls.
Varanua dracaena, common water lizard. A most common species in all British India, Bengal, Nepal, Southern India, and Ceylon. It is called in India the Iguana, is found in great abundance in all the maritime provinces of Ceylon, rarely in the higher Kandyan district& This species of the water lizards can climb well both treea and walls, and it is popularly believed that thieves make use of it to effect an entrance into a building or over a wall, by allowing their guana to get hold by its fore-claws of the window-sill or wall, and pulling themselves up by it. It is eaten by the natives, who consider it highly nourishing and aphrodisiac, and many Europeans use it for soup, imagining it allied to the West Indian guana.. It can always be procured in the Madras market.
Varanus salvator, Laurenti. During the day it is commonly observed in the branches of trees overhanging rivers, preying upon birds and their eggs and smaller lizards, and when disturbed, it throws itself from a considerable height into the water. When attacked on level ground, it attempts its escape by mining, if possible towards the water. Its quickness, however, is not so great 911 to prevent a man from overtaking it, when it will courageously defend itself with teeth aud claws, and by strokes of the tail. The lowest castes of Hindus capture these lizards commonly by digging them out of their burrows on the banks of rivers, for the sake of their flesh, which by these people is greatly relizhed. Some indi viduals attain to nearly 7 feet in length, but the majority are smaller.