CHAP. 49.—THE SEA-CALF; BEAVERS; LIZARDS.

The sea-calf, too, lives equally in the sea and on land, being possessed of the same degree of intelligence as the beaver. It vomits forth its gall, which is useful for many purposes in medicine; also the rennet,[1] which serves as a remedy in epilepsy; for it is well aware that it is hunted for these sub- stances. Theophrastus informs us, that lizards[2] also cast their skins like the serpent, and instantly devour them, thus depriving us of a powerful remedy for epilepsy; he says, too, that the bite of the lizard is fatal in Greece, but harmless in Italy.[3]

1. As Cuvier remarks, it is impossible that any animal can discharge by vomiting what Pliny terms the "coagulum," which is the fourth stomach of a ruminant animal; the same substance which, under the name of rennet, is employed to coagulate milk. He conjectures, that the error may have originated in the observation, that occasionally in fish, when suddenly drawn out of the water, the air—Bladder is protruded from the mouth, which may have been mistaken for the stomach. The circumstance is mentioned by Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. viii. c. 23, and by Ælian, Anim. Nat. B. iii. c. 19, as well as the vomiting of the bile; respecting this latter, we may remark, that vomiting is produced in various animals, when under the influence of extreme terror.—B.

2. The gecko, according to Littrè.

3. This is incorrect; the bite of this animal, wherever found, is never fatal.—B.