SOFT TORTOISES. 25 



to obtain these they will often scale a steep bank 

 that is ten or fifteen feet above the water's edge. 

 The eggs are deposited in hollows, to the number 

 of fifty or sixty, the old Tortoises laying more 

 than young ones. They are spherical in form ; 

 the shell is calcareous but in a slight degree, and 

 is therefore more fragile than that of the eggs 

 of the Emydes that inhabit the same waters. M. 

 Lesueur counted in the ovary of a female twenty 

 ready for laying, and an immense number of 

 others, varying in their dimensions, from the size 

 of a pin's head to the full volume attained when 

 they become covered with the calcareous shell. 

 They are caught by persons who angle for them 

 with a hook and line, baited with a small fish ; 

 when drawn on shore they are dangerous, darting 

 the head to the right and left with incredible 

 velocity ; they often inflict severe bites on their 

 captors, so that the prudent chop off their heads as 

 soon as they draw them out of the water ; the 

 flesh is very delicate in flavour. 



It is believed that the Soft Tortoises pair, and 

 that the male remains constantly attached to the 

 same female, two individuals of different sexes 

 being commonly seen together in any given lo- 

 cality. 



Family IV. Sphargid^. 



(Leathery Turtles.) 



In this and the following Family, the carapace 

 is very much depressed, and their two pairs of 

 feet, which are of unequal length, are flattened 

 into the form of oars or solid fins, their toes being 



