IX TESTUDINIDAE 3/5 



kind has been completely exlerniinated, is now still to be found 

 in the Seychelles in considerable numbers, introduced there by 

 planters, and kept in a state of semi-domestication. A very 

 large specimen was received by the Hon. Walter Eothschild, at 

 Tring, in 1893. In 1897 its shell measured 40| inches in 

 length, 52^ over the curve, and 50 inches across the curve trans- 

 versely ; it weighed 358 lbs. The measurements taken in 

 previous years are unfortunately not free from mistakes. " When- 

 ever the temperature was over 60° F. this tortoise had a free run 

 of 350 acres of grass park, and when tlie temperature showed 

 permanently below 58°, it was kept in an orchid house from 

 September to June. When at liberty in the park it lived 

 entirely on grass, but in the hothouse it fed on carrots, cabbage, 

 lettuce, and several other vegetables " ; it was also very fond of 

 rotten fruit. To this species belongs the large tortoise which 

 has been living at St. Helena for more than the last hundred 

 years. 



T. dmidini is the species of the South Island of Aldabra. 

 Voeltzkow, in 1895, succeeded in carrying off seven specimens. 

 He gives the following description : — The island is an atoll, cut 

 through in three places, with a greatest length of about twenty 

 miles. The chief hindrance in the search for the tortoises is the 

 impenetrability of the island. The soil consists entirely of sharp 

 water -worn corals, with their points uppermost, while tlie whole 

 is covered with such thick masses of low scrub, that a ^\■ay has to 

 be cut with an axe, so that an extended search over a large area 

 is out of the question. To land on the outside is dangerous, on 

 account of the heavy surf; while landing from the inside of the 

 atoll is much hindered by the dense thickets of mangrove trees. 

 As drinking water, and that very bad, is only found in one 

 place, rainwater has to be collected from the natural hollows, and 

 carried along in tanks. Thousands of mosquitoes prevent one 

 remaining over night in those places which the tortoises frequent. 

 Then at last, when one has discovered, by a stroke of luck, one 

 of these creatures, in the thick scrub, where they hide during the 

 heat of the day, the real hard work begins, namely, the convey- 

 ance of the beast. Six readied Euro]:)e alive, two of them were 

 sent to Frankfort, and tlie four others to Hamburg. Mr. 

 Iiothscliild received a male of T. daudini, which, until its 

 recent death, was the largest li\ing tortoise known. The length 



