commonly done in their retiring places, where we can seldom get a sight of them; nor should we indeed know that their skins are changed at all, did we not often find the skins they have cast off. But from this little lizard, which Mr. B. has more than once carefully attended during the whole operation, a reasonable guess may be formed as to most other kinds; and as it is a creature easy to procure, may be kept in a jar of water for many months, and the intervals between the periods are so short, for they shed their skins every 2 or 3 weeks, it is in every one's power to see with his own eyes what is here described. A day or two before the skin is to be changed, the animal appears more sluggish than usual, takes no notice of the worms you give it, which at other times it devours greedily; the skin in some places appears loose from the body, and its colour not so lively as it did before; and thus it continues till the great work of putting off the old skin is to be performed. It begins this operation by loosening with its fore feet the skin about its jaws, which, when open, are wider than any part of its own body, and pushes it backward gently and gradually both above and below the head, till it is able to slip out first one leg, and then the other; which when it has done, it proceeds to thrust the skin backward as far as these legs can reach; it is then obliged to rub its body against pebbles, gravel, or whatever else it can meet with, till more than half its body is freed from the skin, which appears doubled back, and covering the hinder part of the body and the tail. When the business is thus far done, the animal, turning its head round to meet its tail, takes hold of the skin with its mouth, and setting its feet on it, by degrees pulls it quite off, the hind legs being drawn out as the fore ones were before.

If the skin be then examined, it will be found with its inside outwards, but not having the least hole or breach; that part which covered the hind legs seeming like gloves that are turned without pulling out the tips of the fingers, though entirely perfect and unbroken. The coverings of the fore legs remain within the skin. They do not however put off the coverings of their eyes along with the skin, as some snakes are found to do; for the skin of this little creature has always two holes at the places where the eyes have been.

This operation sometimes takes up near half an hour, after which it appears full of life and vigour, as well as very sleek and beautiful.

When the skin is come off, if it be not taken away soon, it is very common for the creature to swallow it whole, as it does all its other food; and if it take it in by the head-part first, as frequently is the case, the tail-part, being filled with air and water, becomes like a blown bladder, and proves so unmannageable that it is very diverting to see the pains it costs to discharge the air and water, and reduce it to a fit condition to be got down its throat.

Many creatures of very different kinds put off their skins and shells at certain periods. All serpents are supposed to do so; the skins of several kinds being often found whole. Crabs, lobsters, cray-fish, shrimps, and probably most or all of the crustaceous fishes, cast their shells from time to time; and if we may guess of the rest by the fresh water shrimp, which Mr. B. had kept several times and observed, their shells are put off without any other breach than one, longitudinally, in the middle of the belly part, through which the body, tail, and claws are drawn out, and the shell left in a manner whole.

Of the insect tribe, every caterpiller has 3 or 4 skins, before its change into the aurelia state, in which the place of creeping out is a little below the head. The spider throws off the skin or shell 3 or 4 times, getting out of it by a rupture underneath, and leaving every claw, and even the horny covering of his forceps entire. Even the little mite casts its skin also at several short periods, and nearly in the same manner.

Pl. 8, fig. 2, represents the lizard; and fig. 3 the same in the act of drawing off the skin with its mouth.

A Remark by the Editor.-Wm. Oliver the viper-catcher, mentioned in N° 443 of these Transactions, made a present to the Royal Society of a female viper big with young, which was kept alive in common green moss, in a box with a glass cover. She brought forth several young ones, which slipped off their skins, and the outer membrane of their eyes along with them, in 6 weeks after their birth; and they shed them again 2 months after but being then put into spirits of wine to preserve them, they were killed; but may still be seen in the museum of the Society. They first loosen the skin about the mouth, and so slip it off backwards, by wriggling themselves through the entanglement of the moss: for some of the skins were torn, and parts of it stuck in the moss. C. M.-Orig,

An Improvement of the Celestial Globe. By Mr. James Ferguson,
N° 483, p. 535.

The paper may be seen at large in Mr. F.'s Astronomy, art. 401, and the fig. of the globe in pl. 3 of that work.

The Case of a young Child, at Houghton in Huntingdonshire, born with all its Bones Displaced. By Mr. Edward Davis, Surgeon at Huntingdon. N° 483, p. 539.

Mr. D. being desired to see this child, found both the radius and ulna of the right arm, with the bones of the carpus and metacarpus, also the fore-finger and little finger of the same hand, all dislocated. The radius and ulna of the left arm were dislocated, and receded from each other; likewise the fore-finger and little-finger of the same hand. The os femoris of the right leg was dislocated very oddly, and laid downwards, so that one might feel the end of it: the patella laid high up the thigh; and the tibia and fibula at their union with the os femoris were also dislocated, and receded very much from each other. The

right leg, the tibia and fibula, at their union with the os calcis, also the os calcis, and the tarsal and metatarsal bones, likewise most of the toes. Of the left leg, the fibula, with some of the metatarsal bones, and some of the toes. The head likewise was very curious: the lambdoidal suture ossified all round, and rose with a prominency half an inch high: the occipital bone had several risings, which felt like several exostosises; and the 2 protuberant sides of the occipital bone enlarged to a prodigious degree, and united with each other, but with a dent between them which felt like a suture. They were enlarged to about 6 inches long, and 3 broad: it was all ossified; the midwife and nurse said it was soft at first: the rest of the head appeared very well.

This child was 7 days old: he had reduced the dislocated bones, though some with great difficulty; for the ends of the bones and cartilages seemed to be all ossifying; and there seemed to be a universal anchylosis coming on. He could not reduce the right foot well; it was all ossified, with the bones displaced, and the extensor pedis pollicis longus was contracted, and had drawn the foot almost round. The jaw-bone was also dislocated, which the midwife could easily put in its place, and the chin-stay supported it pretty well, only apt to slip out on one side. The midwife and nurse said they could for the first 2 days, put all the bones in their places with ease, but they continually fell out again.

The mother received a fall a fortnight before delivery, and she fancied the bones were displaced with the fall, though she did not hurt herself: but whether it was from thence, or from some vice in the fluids, he would not determine. If it were not for several exostosises and anchylosises in several parts, he should have imagined the child (though so young) was rickety; but for the above reason it could not be that. The child seemed lusty and strong, but he thought would soon be otherwise; the woman was lusty, and walked out about her business, though but a week before delivered; and she had 6 children besides, all very healthy.

On the Situation of the Ancient Roman Station of Delgovitia in Yorkshire. By John Burton, of York, M.D. N° 483, p. 541.

The learned antiquarians have hitherto been greatly at a loss to find the place where the Delgovitia of the Romans really stood; some supposing it at one place, and some at another.

Mr. Francis Drake, in his excellent History and Antiquities of York, has given every thing which has hitherto been written in support of the claim made by each place to the honour of rising out of the ruins of that ancient town, with his reasons for fixing that station at Londesburgh; all which need not now be repeated.

There are 3 places where the site of Delgovitia has been fixed at; viz.

Weighton, Godmanham, and Londesburgh. But Dr. Burton dissents from Mr. Drake, and thinks that Delgovitia was not at any of those three places, for several reasons which he thinks make against that supposition. But he rather thinks its situation near the town of Millington. For this place is best adapted by nature for the defence of the country: here also are found the remains of old military works. All these works inclose 4185 acres of ground; whence it is evident here must have been a large army. We see in several places where their tumuli or barrows were represented by little green hills.

Having shown the fortifications and out-works of the camp, he next endeavoured to prove the part within these on which Delgovitia stood. About half a mile north-east of Millington, on the south side of a gently sloping hill, were found several stone foundations of buildings of different sizes, and of different shapes; among which were found several fragments of Roman pavements, Roman tiles, flues, and two Roman coins. These are all proofs of the buildings having been Roman. There was likewise dug up a piece of a large stone pillar, of about 6 feet in length, but of no regular order; which notwithstanding might yet be Roman; for we cannot suppose those military people so well skilled in architecture as the artists at Rome.

If Delgovitia, as Cambden hints, be derived from the British word delgwe, which signifies statues or heathen gods, this place may lay claim to a title on that account, much sooner than either Weighton or Godmanham; for here was dug up a circular foundation resembling a temple in all appearance; being 45 feet diameter within, and the foundation was near 5 feet thick.

Near to this circular building, but south of it, were the foundations of two oblong square buildings, but with a strait entrance, not 2 feet wide, in which probably they put in the fuel and fire for their sacrifices; there being evident marks of burning on the stones, being almost burnt through; also, in digging in the middle of these two buildings, were found about half a yard thick of ashes, with some few small pieces of wood, fuel, and pieces of brute bones, chiefly burnt, and a great part of a horn of a large deer. East of these were laid open the foundations of another square building, where were found various pavements, coins, &c.

From what has been said, he thinks there is nothing wanting now to prove this to have been the Delgovitia, but to reconcile the distance as mentioned in the Itinerary. This he does pretty nearly, by an actual measurement.

He thinks it is evident that neither Weighton, Godmanham, nor Londesburgh, stand where Delgovitia was. He has in the first place shown the probability of this place near Millington being the station, from the known prudence of the Romans, because one set of men could defend the whole 4 passes; which Zz

VOL. IX.

could not have been done, had they been placed at Weighton, Godmanham, or Londesburgh. 2. He was shown that from the very situation and nature of the country, there required but little art to make their camp at that time almost impregnable; the valleys in general being from 60 to 90 yards deep, and their sides very steep. 3. That from this camp and Londesburgh they might see the whole country from the Humber on the south-east, up the vale of York on the west towards the north-west side; so that no army could surprise them that way. 4. That they could always have a sufficient quantity of provisions, and never want water, even in the hottest summers. And, 5. That there has been a Roman station here, as is evident from the Roman pavement, coins, tiles, and foundations of the ruins; and if the Romans had a station at Weighton, Godmanham, or Londesburgh, they would scarcely have had one so near the other.

All these things concur in proving this to be the site of Delgovitia; and there is or can be no argument brought against it; except that, by the Itinerary, the distance from Eboracum by Derventio, is set down at 20 M. P. and by our measure the distance from York to the circular foundation, in the camp, is only 174 miles, and 55 yards; so that there is above 24 measured miles difference. In answer to this, he says, may not the Itinerary be as wrong here as in some other places, which is very evident in several instances? and as it is wrong in some others, doubtless it may be so in this: besides, the Romans might calculate from the centre of York; and this mensuration only goes from the bar at Walmgate to the circular foundation in the Roman camp. But supposing the Itinerary to be exactly right, yet when the difference between the Roman Mil. Pass. and our miles is calculated, he thinks it will end all disputes on that score.

An Appendix to the foregoing Paper. By Mr. Fr. Drake, F. R. S.

No 483, p. 553.

Time, which subverts and destroys the greatest works of mankind, has an equal property of bringing things to light. The Delgovitia of the Romans in this country, so long sought after by Cambden, and other writers, is at length discovered so far, that there is no need of any more conjecture about it.

Being informed, in the year 1745, of some Roman curiosities found in a field near Millington, on the Wolds, Dr. Burton of York and myself set out to survey them. On our coming to the place, an intelligent countryman and his father conducted us to a large plain field, on the south side of Millington wood, where they showed several foundations of buildings under ground, on the very stones of which the apparent marks of fire may be traced. Two bases of pillars, of an irregular order, and a large piece of a column, were also discovered; several pieces of tessclated pavements, Roman bricks, tiles, &c. were dug up. The father said that, about 40 years before, he saw the foundations of a circular