Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1893-12-07
LIZARDS FOR THE LADIES.
ChameIeOns on Golden Chains the Latest
Fad of Fashion

Fad of Fashion.
Never heard of having a pet chance
leon?" said an up-to-date young lady.
why, you surprise me. The animal
is becoming quite fad. Down in Flor
ida, where J was last winter, a very
particular friend of mine always car
ried her chameleon about with her
wherever she went. I'm not sure but
that she slept with it. At all events,
she wore il constantly.
Yes, wore it, Of course! That is the
way to do with chameleon. according
TO the latest style. Though I am get
ting very fond of my own particular
specimen, am not quite reeonciled to
wearing It vet. But this friend of
whom just spoke had her chameleon
Sttached to chain. She had a ieweler
fasten little golden band around the
creatures body, just behind the fore
legs. To this band the chain was fas-
tened, the other end of it being at
tached to pin which it stuck into the
dress.
Oh. assure you that it is quite the
thing. A number of women of my ac-
quaintance in Florida last winter wore
chameleons. They had them fastened
to their dresses by slender gold chains.
so that the animals could walk about.
If you have a chameleon, il is correct
to wear him all the time. Repulsive
idea, you say? Not at all. See what a
pretty little animal this is! Are its
eyes not bright? And then it turns
from one color to another in such a
wonderful way. When l tickle mine
under the chin, he always changes to a
bright pea-green.
do you know, / was very much
frightened when brought my
chameleon mp from the south. After
we left Florida last winter he positive
ly refused to take a thing to eat.
tried him with scraps Of raw meat and
bread, but he declined to touch NOR
sci. Flies are his favorite diet. but
there were none of those to be had il
the north during cold weather. Final
~, 1t occurred to me to experiment
with cockroaches. To my delight. he
devoured them with avidity. l believe
that half "a dozen chameleons kept in
the kitchen and pantry would do away
with every roach, particularly water
bugs"
DIR. Steinger, the reptilian expert of
the Smithsonian institution. was ap-
piled to for information respecting
this so-called species of chameleon.
Said hes
1T is not true chameleon. In
fact, it is not SO nearly related TO the
chameleon as the monkey is ito man.
Its right name is the 'anolis' and il is
peculiar TO America. Though tropic-
al animal, its habitant extends up in
to Florida. 1t lives in trees and. like
the real chameleon. is an eater of in
sects.
Here are couple of true chame-
Icons in this bottleof alcohol. You
will observe that they are very differ
ent looking animals from the anolis.
They are not found in America, but in
habit Africa, the south of Europe and
southwest Asia. There are more than
twenty different species. some of
them attain length of sixteen inches
when full grown. Certain kinds have
long horns. They are very ancient
type Of reptile indeed.
zone of their peculiarities has to do
with their feet. Each Of these extrem-
tiles has five toes, but is divided in such
manner that there are three toes on
one side, and two on the other. If you
will put your hand in the position of
being about to grasp, and viii imagine
that YOU have two thumbs and only
three fingers, You will perceive the Ike
ness to the foot of the chameleon Ii is
made that way because il is designed
for grasping the twigs Of trees in which
it lives. The animal further assists it.
self to hold on by means of its prehen-
sile tail, which it winds about the
branch. Madagascar is a great place
for chameleons. How do they change
color you ask? Oh, that is very well
understood, though it is not easy to
explain in few words Beneath the
outer skin are several layers of pig
ment cells. When upon a green leaf,
the cell containing the green pigment
come to the top, while the others re-
treat. 1t is the same way with the
other colors produced. OF course these
color changes are entirely involuntary
on the part of the animal, being merely
intended to conceal it from its enc